Police appeal to public for information on multi-vehicle collision

Sault Ste. Marie Police Service is calling on the public for eyewitness reports and video of the four-vehicle collision near the northern limits of the city that sent 10 people to hospital Wednesday morning.

Police say a minivan travelling southbound in the 2600 block of Great Northern Road crossed the centre line, striking a northbound pickup truck hauling a trailer. A pickup truck travelling southbound then struck the minivan from behind. A northbound cube truck took evasive action and ended up in the ditch, but did not strike any of the vehicles involved.

Police, fire services and EMS attended the scene. Initial reports indicate that some people involved in the collision had to be extricated by Sault Ste. Marie Fire Services.  

Six passengers in the minivan were taken to hospital with life-threatening and non-life threatening injuries. Sault Police confirms the people in the minivan are not from the Sault Ste. Marie area. 

The drivers of the two pickup trucks, along with the driver and passenger in the cube truck, were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The 10 patients were taken to Sault Area Hospital (SAH), resulting in the deployment of additional hospital staff Wednesday morning. 

“Sault Area Hospital experienced a significant trauma alert yesterday in response to the serious motor vehicle accident north of the city, receiving ten patients,” said Brandy Sharp Young, manager of communications and media services for SAH, in an email to SooToday. “As part of the response, staff and physicians from multiple areas of the hospital assisted in the response, as well as, many staff and physicians who were on their day off came in to support the emergency department team.”

The hospital also worked with CritiCall Ontario, an around-the-clock emergency consultation and referral service for physicians based in acute care hospitals across the province. The provincially-funded emergency service in turn called on Ornge to transport four patients. 

Ornge spokesperson Joshua McNamara informed SooToday that two patients were transported to Health Sciences North in Sudbury, and two patients were transported to Victoria Hospital in London, Ont. Aircraft from London, Timmins and Sudbury were used to transport patients. 

Police say there is no indication that speed or impairment were factors in the collision. The investigation is ongoing. 

Sault Ste. Marie Police Service is urging anyone who may have witnessed the collision or has video of the collision to contact traffic services at (705) 949-6300 ext. 348.