Ontario Premier Doug Ford emerged unscathed after the car he was riding in was hit by another vehicle on Highway 401.
The Jan. 8 collision occurred at roughly 12:30 p.m. in the westbound lanes of Highway 401 at Brock Road in Pickering, Ont.
“We were leaving [Ontario Power Generation], driving down the road on the highway, and the next thing you know, out of nowhere, the car got sideswiped, and that is all I can say,” Ford told reporters at Queen’s Park later in the day. “We were just driving straight, and next thing we know, we got hammered, just hammered.”
Ford said he was not hurt during the crash. Police confirmed in an emailed press release there were no injuries among the other occupants of the vehicle.
The premier had been at the Darlington energy complex in Courtice, Ont., that morning for a press conference and was on his way back to Toronto when the crash occurred.
Ford said the driver that struck the vehicle he was riding in “ended up on the other side of the highway.”
“It was bad,” the premier said. “I just pray he was OK.”
Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said the two occupants in the other vehicle were taken to hospital with minor injuries. Both were treated and released, he said in a video posted to social media.
The 18-year-old male driver of the vehicle has been charged with dangerous driving, Schmidt said. He is scheduled to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in Oshawa on Feb. 20 to answer to the charges.
The OPP said it is continuing to investigate the incident.
Police are asking witnesses or anyone with dashcam footage that has not yet spoken with police to contact the OPP Highway Safety Division or Crime Stoppers.
