The occupants of a stolen pickup truck involved in a collision on Highway 400 in King this morning fled the scene in the vehicle of Good Samaritans who had pulled over to offer help, according to Ontario Provincial Police.
Police said the crash occurred at about 5:45 a.m. on the northbound lanes of the highway, south of Lloydtown-Aurora Road. Two tractor-trailers and a stolen pickup truck collided, causing extensive guardrail damage. No injuries were reported.
“It was a fairly extensive collision scene,” said Sgt. Ted Dongelmans. “Some Good Samaritans stopped at the scene to assist, and unfortunately, the two suspects that were driving the stolen pickup truck then proceeded to steal one of the cars that stopped to assist from the scene."
Police described the stolen vehicle from the collision scene as a light grey Honda Fit. The two suspects are still at large. The first suspect is described as a Black male, aged between 20 and 30, with a heavy build and about six feet tall. The second suspect is a Black female aged between 20 and 30.
“There are two factors that are affecting the lane closures,” said Dongelmans. “Both of the tractor-trailers involved were heavily loaded. They had to bring in a crane to unload the trailer in order to move the vehicles off the highway. That will take some time. Once that is cleaned up, there is heavy damage to the right guardrail, in which case they will have to bring in heavy equipment to facilitate that repair.”
Despite one lane of traffic being open, Dongelmans has observed drivers exiting off King Road due to the severe congestion. He strongly advises drivers to avoid the northbound highway at all costs, as the traffic is expected to last the entire day.
Police continue to search for the stolen Honda and suspects who fled the scene.
