1 dead, 11 injured in multi-vehicle collision in Orillia, Ont.

One person has died and 11 people were injured in a multi-vehicle collision in Orillia, Ont., on Friday, Ontario Provincial Police say.

About 50 vehicles were involved in the crash, according to Orillia Fire Chief Chris Ferry.

The crash, which happened just after 9 a.m. on Friday, shut down sections of Highway 11 for hours, but the highway’s northbound lanes were opened by 9 p.m. The OPP said at 11 p.m. that the southbound lanes would reopen shortly.

“The OPP are working as fast as possible to reopen Highway 11 but due to the collision there is currently debris on the roadway that needs to be cleaned up prior to reopening,” the OPP said earlier Friday night.

Police say the person who died was 49 years old. The 11 injured were taken to a local hospital and the extent of their injuries is not known, the OPP said.

“We are asking all of the public to avoid all unnecessary travel on the roadways where visibility conditions are poor,” said OPP Acting Sgt. Jake Daynes in a video posted to X, formerly known as Twitter. 

It’s still unclear how many separate collisions took place.

Tow truck driver Sonny Subra was not involved in a collision, but says his vehicle got stuck on Highway 11 near the crash. 

“It was very slippery. I tried to control my vehicle and then parked on the right shoulder,” he said.

“There’s multiple transport trucks involved — like, eight or nine transport trucks. There’s people injured. This is a mess,” he said.

Subra later posted videos of people leaving their trapped cars behind to get in a bus, while others are picked up in an ambulance. 

The Orillia area is under a snow squall warning on Friday, with Environment Canada warning about hazardous travel conditions and poor visibility. 

The OPP said they were also dealing with other collisions in the area, and “numerous surrounding roads [were] experiencing heavy call volume” as well.