Injuries, chemical spill in pileup on major Ontario highway
LEEDS, Ont. — A crash involving at least 30 vehicles on a major highway east of Toronto caused a chemical spill on Tuesday, prompting police to evacuate the area.
Police say no one was reported killed in the crash that happened in poor weather at about 2 p.m. near Lansdowne.
People in need of medical attention were sent to hospitals in Kingston and Brockville.
Ontario Provincial Police Const. Sandra Barr said the pileup on Highway 401 east of Kingston involved cars and about a dozen transport trucks.
Barr said one of the transport trucks was leaking a toxic substance, but she could not confirm what the substance was.
Barr said five firefighters, three police officers and 17 civilians were taken to nearby hospitals to begin the decontamination process.
She said one person was injured and taken to hospital by ambulance, but she did not know the extent of the injuries.
Kingston General Hospital said it was told to expect about 10 people, including one person in critical condition, but gave no more details.
Residences around the highway did not have to be evacuated, Barr said, adding that the evacuation was only applied to the highway and the people involved in the crash.
The crash occurred in the eastbound lanes, but the highway was closed in both directions around the collision site. Barr said it was expected that it would be hours before the highway reopened.
She said a cattle truck involved on the pileup waited for another truck to transport the animals.
Despite the poor weather conditions, including icy roads and blowing snow, Barr said before the crash, officers were trying to stop one motorist speeding at about 160 km/h on the highway, which has a 100-km/h limit. She said that incident was not related to the pileup.