Twenty vehicles were involved in multiple crashes on a section of Hwy. 401 east of Cobourg on Monday afternoon.
The 10-kilometre stretch of collisions — involving transport trucks, a snowplow and civilian and commercial vehicles — were along the highway’s eastbound lanes from the exits to Grafton to Colborne.
Grafton is about 10 km east of Cobourg. Emergency crews began responding to incidents before 3 p.m.
No serious injuries were reported but one person was transported to hospital by paramedics.
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Weather with whiteout conditions and ice buildup are being cited by Northumberland OPP as factors in the collisions that prompted the section of the highway to be closed until just before 5 p.m.
Damaged vehicles were towed to a a parking lot just off the highway at Colborne where police took reports of the incidents.
As the highway was closed, some motorists attempted to travel on rural roads to find the next on-ramp of the highway.
However, OPP reported a number of vehicles were getting stuck on the slippery rural roads.