Three tractor-trailer drivers escape injury in Highway 101 crash after snap freeze

The drivers of three tractor-trailers walked away without injuries after colliding on Highway 101 in Kings County early Thursday morning.

Police and firefighters were called at 1:30 a.m. after the crash, which happened after a snap freeze left many roads and highways in the county covered in black ice.

RCMP spokesman Const. Dominic Laflamme said two of the rigs were traveling west on the highway in North Alton, between exits 12 and 13, when one of them jack-knifed and ended up against a guardrail with the trailer portion still in the roadway. A second truck was unable to avoid the first and clipped the back of the trailer, also jack-knifing and sliding down the sloped section of the highway toward the third truck, which was traveling east.

The two collided almost head on, with the third truck ending up jack-knifed as well.

The second truck came to rest with the back of the trailer along the ditch and leaning, held up by its connection to the tractor unit. The third remained on the road surface.

Antifreeze leaked from the second truck, but none of the fuel tanks ruptured.

Debris littered the road for about 200 metres. The first truck’s tires were pushed underneath the guardrail.

All three trucks had to be towed from the scene. The second and third were extensively damaged.

There were no dangerous good in any of the trailers.

The highway was closed for more than three hours while crews cleaned up the site.

The crash remains under investigation.