Major stretch of Highway 401 shuts down after a serious crash causing traffic chaos
A stretch of Highway 401 in Ajax was shut down in both directions on Monday morning after a major collision, leaving one person with serious injuries and creating gridlock for the start-of-week commute.
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Highway Safety Division reported the major collision just before 10:30 a.m. on Monday in the eastbound lanes of the 401 near Lake Ridge Road in Ajax.
The OPP warned that all lanes were closed in both directions, with eastbound traffic diverted to Salem Road and westbound traffic diverted to Highway 412.
Police were unable to offer any estimated window of reopening, and the stretch of 401 remains closed approaching the noon hour.
SERIOUS COLLISION: #TorontoOPP and #HSDTSU investigating major collision on @Hwy401 & Lakeridge Rd in Ajax. One person transported to hospital w/ serious injuries. All lanes closed in both directions w/ no ETA. E/B traffic diverted to Salem Rd. W/B traffic diverted to @Hwy412 ^sn pic.twitter.com/hc2iMRhOGC
— OPP Highway Safety Division (@OPP_HSD) October 23, 2023
A photo of the crash shared by the OPP shows utter devastation, with a truck almost completely disintegrated and strewn about the highway.
Police report that one person was transported to hospital with serious injuries.
Meanwhile, the closure of a busy stretch of the highway has impacted motorists with chaotic conditions in the area of 401 and Lake Ridge.
👀🚨#ONHwys #Incident #TrafficUpdate🚨👀
— Trafficnet.ca (@TRAFFIC_Toronto) October 23, 2023
ALL LANES BLOCKED both ways of the #Hwy401 west of Lake Ridge Rd because of a crash with a truck rollover.
SB #Hwy412 ramp to WB 401, and
the Salem Rd ramp to EB 401 are shut down for the time being. https://t.co/XkqhqMATaX pic.twitter.com/FUbspHJJ8V
No additional information has been provided by police at this time.
OPP
