Truck driver in critical condition following crash on Highway 401 in Bowmanville

Police are on the scene of a crash on Highway 401 in Bowmanville on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (Ontario Provincial Police)

A truck driver has been critically injured in a collision on Highway 401 in Bowmanville Thursday morning, Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) say.

The collision occurred in the westbound lanes of the highway at Liberty Street just before 9:30 a.m.

OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said two passenger vehicles were entering the highway when one got hung up on a snowbank, lost control, and went sideways across the ramp.

The other driver then went around that vehicle and caused a tractor-trailer on the westbound lanes to lose control, Schmidt said.

“The tractor-trailer ended up on the right shoulder into the guardrail and against an overhead sign base,” he said, adding the driver got trapped as a result.

He was later transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

All westbound lanes were closed following the crash. Just before 3 p.m., police said they reopened one lane. It is unclear when the highway will fully reopen.

The collision occurred after a major winter storm passed through southern Ontario, dumping between 15 and 26 centimetres.

Schmidt told CP24 that the OPP investigated more than 100 crashes and 125 incidents involving vehicles stuck in the snow since 6 p.m. Wednesday.