Driver airlifted to Toronto following Hwy 17 crash

OPP NEWS RELEASE

*************************** Driver in critical condition after collision

THESSALON - At 8:30 a.m. on August 11, two vehicles collided just west of Thessalon causing Highway 17 to be closed for approximately 3 hours.

An eastbound vehicle being driven by 29-year-old Jean-Benoit Faucher of Levis, Ontario collided with a westbound SUV being operated by 72-year-old James Hibbert of Petrolia, Ontario sending Faucher to hospital with life threatening injuries.

Officers from the East Algoma OPP detachment and an OPP Technical Traffic Collision Investigator (TTCI) responded along with area fire departments.

Faucher was transported to the hospital in Sault Ste Marie then later air-lifted to Toronto’s St. Michael’s where he remains in critical condition.

Hibbert and the other passengers in the vehicles suffered minor only injuries.

The collision is still under investigation by police.

*************************** Earlier Sootoday coverage of this story 2:50 p.m. update on East Highway closure