A 58-year-old Markham man is facing charges after a tractor-trailer allegedly collided with a parked fire truck on Hwy. 401 in Alnwick/Haldimand during the weekend’s winter storm.
As previously reported on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025, emergency crews were already in the area near Gully Road for a collision in the westbound lanes earlier that morning.
“While at the location, a tractor-trailer collided with a parked fire truck and came to a stop off the roadway,” said OPP, in a subsequent update, while confirming charges laid in their investigation.
As a result of their investigation, police said a 58-year-old Markham resident was charged with careless driving and failure to move into another lane for an emergency vehicle or tow truck – if safe to do so.
None of these charges have been proven in court.
No first-responders were injured – but police said over the weekend that the tractor-trailer driver was transported to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries following the crash, which shut down the highway.
Officials are once again echoing the call for drivers to remain alert, saying this incident highlights the critical need for drivers to give emergency vehicles and crews the space needed to operate safely at collision scenes.
A similar call was made following a winter storm at the start of the month after an unrelated incident where a Cobourg fire truck was hit by a tractor-trailer on the highway while responding to a call. One firefighter was sent to hospital with minor injuries as a result of the crash.
Failing to not give first-responders the space needed on the highway also compromises their ability to help those in need, reiterated OPP, with police urging all motorists to slow down, move over and exercise caution when approaching emergency scenes to prevent incidents like this from happening.
In another unrelated incident over the weekend, there was a tractor-trailer fire that shut down Hwy. 401 westbound in Alnwick/Haldimand. No injuries were reported, and in an update, police said the fire is not believed to be suspicious at this time.
(Written by: Sarah Hyatt)