A chemical spill brought traffic to a standstill for much of Thursday on Ontario’s Highway 400, causing frustration for drivers on this busy roadway that connects Toronto with the province’s central and northern reaches.

Around 1:30 p.m. near Newmarket, a car collided with a transport truck, causing the truck’s load of hazardous cleaning solution to gush across the highway. With a long stretch of the 400 closed in both directions, it took more than eight hours before the toxic and flammable chemicals could be cleared and the highway reopened, stranding numerous motorists.

“(M)y 15 month old child has been stuck on that highway for over 5 hours without food or water,” one Twitter user posted over halfway into the ordeal.

“My wife has pulled over and waiting it out. Been stuck for over 5 hours as well. Its (sic) ridiculous,” another Tweeted.

While frustrations like these were vented on social media, residents of the area offered some relief.

“It’s been a long go, but it’s been unbelievable the people who have been coming up handing out granola bars, Rice Krispies squares, bottles of water,” Judy Arksey told CP24 from her car six hours into her wait. “There were people handing out diapers in case there were babies. It was phenomenal. It just makes it all kind of in a different light.”

Vicki Venuto’s four- and six-year-old children were on their way home from a day camp field trip when the school bus they were on got stuck early Thursday afternoon. A local woman stepped aboard with water for the children, Venuto said. Later, the OPP provided snacks. Although the children didn’t get home to Aurora until after 11 p.m., Venuto says she was happy to receive updates every 15 to 30 minutes from the camp’s staff.

“The staff on the bus said all the kids co-operated amazingly considering the circumstances,” she told CTVNews.ca in a telephone interview. “I can’t say enough about the staff – they handled the situation very well.”

A second collision on the highway’s southbound lane in Vaughan caused further closures Thursday. This two-vehicle crash saw one vehicle burst into flames after colliding with a stalled car around 7:45 p.m. The driver of the broken-down car was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The other driver escaped with only minor injuries. Both northbound and southbound lanes in the vicinity remained closed until after 10 p.m.

With files from CTV Toronto and CP24