The collision that closed Highway 400 northbound lanes heading into Barrie for several hours Tuesday evening remains under investigation.
All northbound lanes were closed for several hours after a car collided with an OPP vehicle which was parked on the side of the highway approaching the Mapleview Drive exit.
The collision happened shortly after 5:30 p.m., when the driver of the Honda lost control and struck the police SUV.
The officer was not injured nor was the person he was assisting, but the driver of the car was taken to hospital.
On Wednesday, OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt told BarrieToday that the officer was stopped on Highway 400 to attend to another driver whose vehicle had broken down.
“Our officer was outside of his vehicle when it was hit by another vehicle that seems to have lost control,” said Schmidt.
The region experienced a severe weather warning Tuesday and rain was heavy at times in the evening.
“The investigation is ongoing, but I can say that weather was not an issue and the roads were dry when this occurred," the sergeant added.
The driver of the vehicle that struck the OPP vehicle was sent to hospital with minor injuries, but Schmidt said they were “serious enough to be admitted, but my understanding is that person will be OK.”
The highway reopened shortly after 11 p.m., Tuesday.
Schmidt said there was a reason for the long closure as officers conducted their on-scene investigation.
“The delay comes from having to see what the status of the driver was at the hospital and since they collided with a police vehicle, we needed to see if (the Special Investigations Unit) would have been called, which they weren’t,” he said.
The SIU investigates incidents that result in serious injury and involve police.
