30-year-old man dead after multi-vehicle collision on Hwy. 400 in North York

TORONTO — A section of Highway 400 in North York reopened Thursday evening following an early-morning pileup that left a 30-year-old man dead.

The seven-vehicle crash, which involved a transport truck, occurred in the southbound lanes of the highway south of Finch Avenue shortly before 7 a.m.

Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said according to witness reports, cars began to slow in the middle two lanes of the highway when the driver of the transport truck plowed into the back of vehicles that had slowed down or stopped.

It resulted in a chain-reaction crash, Schmidt said, and one of the vehicles involved was completely consumed by fire.

A 30-year-old man from Richmond Hill was pronounced dead at the scene and multiple other people suffered minor injuries.

It is not clear if any charges will be laid in connection with the crash. The southbound lanes of the highway are closed for the investigation.

Schmidt said a secondary collision occurred at Rutherford Road this morning as a result of people turning around at the crash scene and going the wrong way while trying to exit the highway.

Just before 9 p.m., police said they have completed their on-scene investigation. The highway was subsequently reopened after a nearly 14-hour closure.