Charges are pending in connection to a five-vehicle chain-reaction crash in Chatham-Kent Thursday that shut down both directions of Hwy. 401, provincial police said.
Three tractor-trailers and two other vehicles were involved in the collision, which occurred on the eastbound lanes of the highway near Communication Road around 3:45 p.m., police said.
One tractor-trailer had come to a stop on the roadway for construction delays when it was rear-ended by a second tractor-trailer, which had been rear-ended by a third tractor-trailer.
"Two motor vehicles that were behind the third tractor-trailer ended up colliding into the back of each other and the third transport truck as well," said OPP Const. Jay Denorer.
One person suffered minor injuries and was later treated and released, Denorer said, adding unspecified charges were pending in the incident.
As a result of the crash, both directions of Hwy. 401 were closed from Bloomfield Road to Kent Bridge Road several hours. Eastbound and westbound lanes reopened around 9 p.m.
"Going for the cause, it's going to be the same cause as a lot of the collisions we have in construction zones — people not paying attention," Denorer said.
"Pay attention as you're going through construction zones, expect slowdowns in that area, and give yourself enough space."
Thursday's crash is just the latest along this section of highway. At least six collisions have occurred along Hwy. 401 between Kent Bridge Road and County Road 42 in Tilbury in the last four weeks.
On July 13, a 57-year-old Windsor man was charged after a tractor-trailer crash and fire near Communication Road around 5:45 p.m. shut down both directions of the highway for several hours. Not long after, police attended a separate single-tractor-trailer collision on the highway near County Road 42 around 7 p.m.
On July 25, a collision around 3:41 p.m. shut down all westbound lanes from Kent Bridge Road to Bloomfield Road for more than two hours.
On July 28, a chain-reaction crash involving five tractor-trailers near Merlin Road around 5:15 p.m. left three people in hospital for minor injuries. The crash shut down eastbound lanes for around two-and-a-half hours.
On July 30, a six-vehicle crash near Dillon Road around 5:40 p.m. left two people, a 42-year-old woman and 14-year-old boy from Amherstburg, dead and sent two others, a 39-year-old driver and 12-year-old boy, to hospital with serious injuries. Westbound lanes were closed for around 10 hours.
On Aug. 2, police charged a 51-year-old Windsor man with careless driving after an early morning crash and vehicle fire near Harwich Road shut down westbound lanes for a little over three hours.
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