OPP report a staggering series of rear-end collisions on Highway 400 this morning between Highway 9 on the north and the Innisfil Beach side road on the south. As reportage continues, it is confirmed that only three people have been injured. They have been taken to hospital for treatment of minor injuries. The dozens of other drivers and passengers involved in this wreck are being loaded into City of Barrie buses to keep them warm. They will be taken to accommodation in the reception area of a local race track where there is also space to bring the vehicles. Police must separate and make of a record of the cars and trucks of all sizes and provide the owners with information about their condition and location. This process will be facilitated by a numbering system which matches up drivers with the vehicles. The accident was caused by a large snow squall that swept across the area in the mid-morning hours and caused white-outs and slippery roads. It is a known and frequent hazard of driving on main highways in Ontario in winter. White-outs are a profound hazard — periods of blindness in which drivers have no orientation as to where other vehicles may be located or their speed. It is nothing short of miraculous that so few people were hurt in this accident.
