Westbound Hwy. 401 near Whitby reopened after fatal crash

A truck driver is dead and another man faces an impaired driving charge after a deadly crash that closed all westbound lanes of Hwy. 401 near Whitby overnight and into the morning.

OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt saidthe driver of a fully-loaded tractor-trailer was killed when the truck collided with a Jeep and flipped over near the Brock Street exit just after 10 p.m.

The driver, identified as 51-year-old Lindsay A. Findlay of Arnprior, Ont., was pronounced dead at the scene.

Schmidt said the driver of the Jeep had lost control of his vehicle and was hit from behind by transport, which rolled over and blocked all three lanes of the highway.

The highway was blocked off throughout the night, with some drivers stuck for up to four hours as police called in heavy equipment to assist in the clean up. It re-opened shortly after 8: 20 a.m. this morning.

The transport truck was filled with grain, said Schmidt, which causedproblems for crews trying to clear the highway of obstructions.

The Jeep driver, a 31-year-old North York man, was not injured but was arrested and charged with impaired driving causing death and dangerous driving causing death.