Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) in Norfolk County are praising the skills of two transport truck drivers after they avoided a potentially devastating crash near Simcoe.
“The two transport truck drivers, professional drivers, did an amazing job avoiding a head-on collision and can be credited with potentially saving lives here today,” said Const. Ed Sanchuk, who posted dashcam video of the near-collision in an OPP Twitter post.
In a Periscope post, Sanchuk said OPP were dispatched to Highway 24 near Wyndham Road 12 for reports of a collision between two large trucks just before 10 a.m.
When emergency crews arrived at the scene, they discovered two trucks that had gone off the road, with one on the side of the highway and the other stuck in a ditch.
“One truck was travelling northbound and one truck was travelling southbound on Highway 24 when a pickup truck decided to turn out in front of these gentlemen and stop directly on Highway 24, causing this chain reaction,” said Sanchuk.
He went on to say the drivers avoided a collision by “picking up speed and going into the ditch.” He also said one of the trucks was carrying about 30,000 kilograms of watermelons.
There were no injuries.
The driver of the pickup truck reportedly fled the scene but was located not long after. Charges are pending, according to Sanchuk.
Highway 24 was closed between Old Highway 24 and Concession 13 Townsend for close to four hours as a result of the incident.