Seniors die in SUV on Hwy. 400 after truck hits median, sending object through their windshield
Apr 20, 2008 04:30 AM - Brett Popplewell Staff Reporter
There was no way they could have seen it coming. The tailgate from a dump truck flew across traffic on Highway 400 and smashed through the windshield of an SUV, killing an elderly couple from Toronto.
The victims, a 75-year-old man and woman, have been identified but their names are not being released until next of kin have been notified. They were travelling north on the highway and were near King Rd. around 2 p.m. yesterday when the accident occurred.
"The dump truck was travelling southbound when it lost control and hit the centre cement median," OPP Const. Dave Woodford smaid yesterday.
"Some witnesses are telling us that the truck may have blown a tire and that it hit the median as a result."
More than three hours after the accident, police had still not removed the victims from the remains of the vehicle, a Chevrolet Avalanche.
Woodford said the female passenger was crushed upon impact and died immediately. The man driving the Avalanche was still conscious and breathing faintly when police arrived at the scene but he died before being removed from the car.
The driver of the dump truck was not injured. Witnesses, including the driver of a second dump truck, stopped at the scene but were unable to help the couple.
"There's nothing left of the vehicle, (the truck's tailgate) went straight through the front," Woodford said. "You can't plan for anything like this, it's like being struck by lightning or having a tree coming down on top of you.
"Everyone could have been doing everything perfectly right," he said, adding that he'd never heard of a tailgate coming off a dump truck before.
All lanes of Highway 400 between King Rd. and Highway 9 were closed yesterday afternoon.
Northbound lanes were reopened shortly after 7 p.m. but southbound traffic remained diverted until late into the night as police continued to investigate.
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