Death toll unknown after intense fire in fatal Highway 401 crash: OPP

Ontario Provincial Police say an intense fire has prevented investigators from determining how many people died in a multi-vehicle crash on Highway 401 Tuesday.

OPP said officers were called around 4:03 p.m. on Oct. 13 to the eastbound lanes of Highway 401 near Mill Road in the Township of Southwold for reports of a multi-vehicle crash.

Police said traffic had slowed because of an earlier collision in the eastbound lanes of Highway 401 near Colonel Talbot Road in Middlesex County. A second crash then occurred west of the initial scene and involved two transport trucks and a passenger vehicle.

The vehicle and one of the transport trucks caught fire and quickly became engulfed in flames, police said.

Police described the collision as fatal but said investigators had not determined the total number of occupants or deaths because of the intense fire involving the passenger vehicle.

“The driver of the transport truck was able to exit the vehicle and was not injured. The second transport driver was taken to hospital to be treated for minor injuries,” police said in a news release Wednesday.

Highway 401 was closed for approximately 11 hours while emergency crews investigated.

The investigation remains ongoing.