While details of Friday morning's pileup on snow-covered Highway 11 in Orillia remain scant, the OPP have released some details about the incident.
In a media release, the OPP confirmed a 49-year-old man from Brampton was killed in the crash. The police say 11 people were taken to Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital suffering from "various" injuries.
The incident happened at 9:07 a.m. Friday morning.
Members from the OPP's Traffic Incident Management Team are on site investigating.
Hwy11 still closed, pic.twitter.com/D4LfcDr3Ok
— Sonny's Towing (@SonnySubra) February 7, 2025
Highway 11 will remain closed for "the foreseeable future," said the media release, noting the northbound lanes are closed between the Coldwater Road exit in Orillia and Highway 400. The southbound lanes of the highway are closed from County Road 169 to Line 15 in Oro-Medonte Township.
Earlier today, Orillia Fire Chief Chris Ferry estimated between 50-60 vehicles were involved in the chain-reaction crash that occurred amid blowing snow and whiteouts.
Two Orillia Transit buses were brought to the scene and transported those impacted by the crash to Rotary Place in Orillia, which has been turned into a warming centre.
Tow trucks are working to clear away the wrecked cars. Then, crews will have to plow the snow-covered road.
Local amateur weather watcher David Brain says the storm has dumped almost 50 centimetres of snow on Orillia in the past 24 hours; that's more than the average snowfall for the month of February, he said.
