A dramatic scene unfolded along Highway 401 near Belleville and it was all caught on video.
A car was travelling the wrong way on the highway, narrowly missing several vehicles — as it reached speeds of over 150 kilometres an hour Wednesday morning.
On a video posted to Twitter, you can hear a man’s voice say, “He’s done something. Yeah, they got him right here (referring to a police roadblock on the highway).”
In the video, you see the driver of a small red car speeding westbound in the eastbound lanes just after 10 a.m.
“He’s hit something, too,” says the man on the video. “The front end is all smashed up!”
According to Quinte West OPP, police received multiple 911 calls, about a vehicle driving the wrong way on the 401 near Highway 37 in Belleville.
“Our officers, obviously … reacted very quickly,” says Const. Devin Leeworthy with Quinte West OPP. “And they were able to locate the vehicle and were able to get ahead of it … and intercept it.
“And stop the vehicle, before there was any further incident.”
According to the OPP, the driver was a 76-year-old man from Mississauga and was travelling at a high speed.
“A vehicle driving at, especially at speeds upwards of a 160 kilometres an hour … if that vehicle was to strike an object, let alone another vehicle, it could be absolutely devastating,” says Leeworthy.
In the 36 seconds of video, filmed by the passenger of a vehicle travelling westbound, you can clearly see the red car pass a 18-wheel tanker truck and then a small white car.
In the video, you can also see two OPP cruisers racing ahead in the westbound lanes to get to an emergency turnaround.
“And luckily were able to stop traffic, the eastbound traffic,” says Leeworthy. “You can actually see one of the officers getting out of his vehicle … and physically gesturing to the driver of the vehicle to stop.”
The unnamed driver was charged with stunt driving and careless driving.
His licence was suspended for seven days and his vehicle also impounded for seven days.
The accused is scheduled to appear in a Belleville court on Feb. 1.
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