Uploaded by: julieannec1969
Description: A 22-year-old woman was killed Friday after getting out of her car to survey damage in the midst of a multi-vehicle collision north of Barrie. Four others suffered minor injuries. The crash happened around 11am on the southbound lanes of Highway 11 near the Oro-Medonte . 8th Line and involved dozens of vehicles. It started when a tractor-trailer lost control and jack-knifed. Not long after a second tractor-trailer was forced into a ditch, sparking a chain reaction of collisions OPP Const. Peter Leon explained how the fatality happened. "She exited her vehicle and was struck by another vehicle that was also involved," said Leon. The Barrie woman, identified as Connie Ward, was pronounced dead at the scene. All southbound lanes of Highway 11 in the area were closed for several hours while police investigated. There were whiteout conditions when the crash happened and police say the weather was likely the cause of the crash. At best, visibility was about 200 metres, authorities said. One of the first officers on scene also had a close brush with serious injury. "One of the officers from Barrie detachment who was on scene investigating the original occurrence was actually witness to the fact that the jack-knifed tractor-trailer was out of control and had to run out of the way herself so she wasn't struck," Leon added. About three hours earlier, another crash had snarled rush-hour traffic on Highway 401 near Guelph Line in Milton. Cars were backed up for about six kilometres ...
