String of collisions snarl Highway 401 traffic last week

Rollover blocks westbound 401 lanes August 15 – The third of three motor vehicle incidents in less than 24 hours happened just west of the Nudell Bush Road overpass on Highway 401 on August 15. The transport rolled over into the westbound lanes. Traffic was at first detoured around the incident (seen above) and later via County Road 2 between Ingleside and County Road 41 (Upper Canada Road) as crews cleaned up the scene. The highway reopened after 10 p.m. that evening.

MORRISBURG – Travelling between Iroquois and Morrisburg was busier than usual August 15 as three collisions on Highway 401 in less than 24-hours snarled detour traffic between the two villages.

The most serious of the three collisions happened just after 10 a.m. west of Morrisburg on the eastbound lanes between County Road 31 and the Flagg Road overpass. Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry OPP say that three commercial vehicles, two transports and a dump truck collided.

Two people suffered serious injuries, and one was transported to an Ottawa-area trauma centre by helicopter.

Police say traffic had slowed on that section of highway due to another collision east of Morrisburg. Traffic from this collision was rerouted via County Road 2 between Iroquois and Morrisburg until late that evening.

The collision remains under investigation. Police ask anyone with information related to their investigation to call the OPP at 1-888-310-1122. No cause of the collision was released.

The earlier collision, which began the day, took place just after 6 a.m. at the Ingleside OnRoute service centre. That collision happened at the on-ramp to the 401 at the Nudell Bush Road overpass involving commercial transports. No injuries were reported and the road reopened to traffic by 10:30 a.m.

A third incident happened just west of the location of the first incident, at the Ingleside OnRoute at about 4:45 p.m. A transport rolled over on to the westbound lanes of Highway 401, just west of the Nudell Bush Road overpass. The highway was closed for nearly six hours while crews cleaned up and removed the overturned transport.

Local first responders including the South Dundas Fire and Emergency Services were involved with all three calls.

SDFES Fire Chief Jeremy Alldred-Hughes told The Leader that distracted driving, especially through areas where there are collision, is a problem.

“I’m seeing one in 10 people driving by has their phone out, distracted, trying to take pictures,” Alldred-Hughes said. “Motorists need to remember that when passing emergency crews, we need them to have full concentration and focus on driving to ensure emergency workers go home safe.”

Bill Dickson with the OPP East Region echoed Alldred-Hughes comments on distracted driving.

“A driver’s only focus should be on the road ahead. Trying to shoot video while driving past a collision scene is not only illegal, it endangers the first responders and others at the scene,” Dickson said. “It can result in secondary collisions, which further add to the issues.”