1 dead, 28 hurt after 30-vehicle crash on Hwy 401 near Kingston
Collision of up to 15 trucks caused a chemical spill
One person is dead and 28 people were taken to hospital after a 30vehicle crash that caused a hazardous chemical spill on Highway 401, east of Kingston.
The crash, involving up to 15 transport trucks and other vehicles, happened about 2 p.m. Tuesday, prompting police to evacuate the area, said Ontario Provincial Police Const. Sandra Barr.
The hazardous material was identified as fluorosilicic acid, which can cause irritation to the nose, throat, respiratory system, swelling of the skin and severe eye irritation.
The highway was still closed as of 8 p.m. in both directions around the accident site from Mallorytown Rd. to Reynolds Rd. in the Lansdowne area, east of Kingston.
Kingston General Hospital, one of the hospitals receiving patients from the crash, declared a Code Orange to deal with the accident. The hospital also opened a decontamination bay for all those who were exposed to the chemical. “Code Orange means that the Kingston General Hospital Emergency Department will be receiving multiple individuals as a result of some external disaster,” said Meagh- an Quinn, a spokesperson for Kingston General Hospital.
Thirteen of the patients were emergency services first responders who underwent decontamination and were held for observation as a precaution, Quinn said.
One of the injured was the driver of the transport truck that was leaking chemicals, Barr said. “I don’t know extent of the injuries.”
An OPP spokesperson said he did not have details on the person who died in the crash.
Non-critical patients were being rerouted to Hôtel Dieu Hospital, which is also in Kingston.
Quinn said the Code Orange was in place even about 8 p.m. because they were treating patients in “non-tradi- tional care areas,” that is, spaces the hospital normally wouldn’t use.
By about 5:15 p.m., the site of the multi-vehicle pile up on Highway 401 had been contained, said Elaine M. Mallory, spokesperson for the township of Leeds and the Thousand Islands, in a news release.
No residential properties were affected and there was no risk to the general public, she added.
The Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change was expected to attend the scene, she said.
Barr says a cattle truck involved in the pileup was also still on the scene Tuesday night as crews waited for another truck to transport the animals.