Multi-vehicle crash north of Hamilton sends six to hospital

Six people were taken to hospital - including two with life-threatening injuries - in a multi-vehicle collision Friday evening in Millgrove.

Emergency crews responded to Highway 6, just off Concession 5 West and Concession 6 East, at around 6 p.m. for reports of a large crash that saw multiple vehicles collide and at least two drivers trapped.

Ontario Provincial Police said five vehicles were involved in the head-on collision.

Investigators are looking into all factors," said the OPP's Highway Safety Division in a tweet. We're also investigating impairment as one contributing factor."

The scene of the collision was littered in debris and glass. Three cars could be seen with their windshields missing and doors completely ripped off their hinges. One sedan was visibly crunched. A damaged engine was strewn across the middle of the roadway and the top of a car seat was atop a mangled door on the curb.

Hamilton Paramedic Supt. Dave Thompson said two 30-year-old men were taken to a local hospital in critical and life-threatening condition. Three others were taken to local hospital in serious but stable condition. Another was taken to an out-of-area hospital with minor injuries.

A couple of patients were trapped" in their vehicles and had to be extricated by Hamilton firefighters, Thompson said.

Sean Magee waited nervously for crews to arrive as he watched the motionless driver of a damaged SUV pinned underneath his dashboard and motor."

I got into the passenger seat, tried to calm him down," said Magee.

Magee and his wife, Alison Hellyer, were on their way to Burlington, their dog in the back seat, when the collision occurred about eight cars ahead of them.

The severity of everything, all the debris flying around," said Magee. We had to pullover."

I saw a white van fly off the highway," added Hellyer.

Hellyer phoned 911 as Magee rushed to help trapped victims.

I waited in the SUV until (firefighters) came," said Magee. There were two others trapped in a Volkswagen but I couldn't get them out."

Emergency crews were extricating patients and scrambling in between disfigured cars when Nfut Nguyen arrived to his home on Highway 6 just after the collision.

It's a shocking sight to come home to," said Nguyen, plucking pieces of debris off his front yard. I've lived here for three years and it's the first time something like this has happened."

Ken VanVeen has lived on Millgrove Side Road for 21 years. He said speeding in the rural area has always, always been a problem.

It went from 60 kilometres-per-hour when I first moved here to 50 and now 40 because people speed here all the time," he said. I've been walking on the road before and had to jump into a ditch to dodge the passing cars."

Police have closed all lanes on Highway 6 between Concession 6 and Concession 5. A scene is expected to be held well into Friday night.

The investigation remains ongoing.

Sebastian Bron is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sbron@thespec.com