One person dead, another injured after fiery crash south of Comber

One driver is dead and another is critically injured after a twovehicle crash near Comber left a transport truck in flames and a hydro pole severed on Wednesday morning.

The collision occurred around 8:15 a.m. on Highway 77 at Lakeshore Road 310, just south of Comber.

Essex-Windsor EMS, Lakeshore Ontario Provincial Police and the Town of Lakeshore’s fire department responded to the scene.

The vehicles involved were a transport truck and a white fourdoor Chevrolet Equinox compact SUV.

It’s not yet clear how the incident unfolded, but the OPP said the transport truck collided with the car at the intersection, struck the pole and tumbled into a ditch where it quickly set on fire.

Damage to the transport truck’s cabin was extensive. Police said the truck’s driver was pronounced dead at the scene.

“There was nothing left of that cabin. It looked like a bomb went off inside,” said Lakeshore motorist Robb Meloche, who stopped at the scene.

The transport had a flat trailer with a canopy. Its cargo consisted of large rolls of steel, which were visibly dislodged in the wreckage.

Meloche had just dropped off his daughter at a babysitter when he noticed a column of black smoke coming from the scene.

“The smoke was probably a couple hundred feet in the air. At first, I thought it was a house on fire,” Meloche said. “I started driving to the smoke to see what was going on, see if anybody needed help.”

Along with the wrecked truck, the hydro pole was also heavily damaged.

“It was broken right in half,” Meloche said.

The wooden pole was severed, but its upper half remained suspended in the air by electrical wires.

The second vehicle — the SUV — was not on fire, but was visibly damaged on its front driver side.

Live wires from the hydro pole complicated the extraction of the car’s lone female occupant. She was removed from the scene and taken to hospital via ambulance.

Essex County OPP spokesman Const. Jim Root said the SUV driver’s injuries are considered life-threatening.

Police temporarily shut down Highway 77 from County Road 46 to Lakeshore Road 311 until 6 p.m. to allow collision reconstruction specialists to examine the scene.

The intersection has no traffic lights. The two lanes on Highway 77 have right of way. There are stop signs for vehicles on Lakeshore Road 310 approaching from the east or west.

Comber is half an hour east of Windsor, just south of Highway 401.

JASON KRYK Ontario Provincial Police collision reconstruction specialists examine the scene of a fatal crash involving a transport truck and a Chevrolet Equinox on Wednesday near Comber at Highway 77 and Lakeshore Road 310. One driver was killed and the other...

JASON KRYK OPP officers work the scene of a collision involving a transport truck and an SUV south of Comber on Wednesday. A portion of Highway 77 was shut down until Wednesday evening as part of the investigation.