Highway 401 reopens after 'Significant Fuel Spill'

A six-vehicle crash closed the westbound lanes of the 401 at Veterans Memorial Parkway in London, Ont. on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)

An 11-vehicle crash closed the westbound lanes of the 401 at Veterans Memorial Parkway (VMP) Sunday afternoon.

A pair of jack-knifed tractor trailers leaking fuel brought the London Fire Department to the scene.

When CTV News arrived on scene, there were multiple tow trucks removing damaged vehicles, and first responders from EMS and Fire on scene, along with the OPP who had closed the westbound ramps to the 401 at VMP.

London Fire Department tweeted “there is a significant fuel spill from one jack-knifed trailer carrying fuel, this may result in a lengthy closure.”

They added the Ministry of the Environment had been contacted.

The highway reopened shortly after 3 p.m. and no injuries were reported.

A post on social media from a woman whose daughter said was involved said, “Some idiot flew up behind my daughter and swerved to miss her and bounced off the guardrail,” wrote Kristen Schnarr. “Five cars ahead of her caused a six-car pileup. She said two other cars did the same thing after him but missed her. It’s a mess.”

This crash along with two others west of London on the 401 and one on the 402 came within an hour of the snowfall in the region.