A 38-year-old woman has died after a serious crash shut down a major part of the expressway in Kitchener Monday morning.
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) say the southbound ramp from Highway 7 West to the eastbound lanes of Highway 8 was closed after the crash around 7:30 a. m.
Sgt. Kerry Schmidt from OPP said the Waterloo woman lost control while driving on that ramp, drove up a snowbank, went over the concrete barrier, and landed below on the highway. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Schmidt also mentioned this was actually the second time that morning that a vehicle had gone off that ramp onto the highway underneath.
In an update shared later on social media, Schmidt said contractors with the Ministry of Transportation will need to clear away a dangerous snow embankment before reopening the flyover ramp to Highway 8.
He explained how snow pushed onto the shoulder of the ramp created a raised area where cars could hit it, slide over the wall, and fall down onto traffic below.
“Plows are coming through, clearing the highways and pushing that show off to the side. In this case, they can’t push it over the wall because it would go down onto the highway below,” said Schmidt.
The flyover ramp is expected to stay closed for most of Monday including during evening rush hour, which will likely cause delays for commuters.
Road conditions are believed to have played a role in both crashes that happened early Monday morning, according to Schmidt.
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