At 6:42 a.m., St. Catharines Fire and Emergency Services was responding to a report of a car that had left the southbound lanes of the highway just past the Westchester Crescent on-ramp.
Fire Chief Dave Upper said several fire department vehicles were on scene, along with Ontario Provincial Police, who had blocked off the right lane, restricting traffic to the left lane.
Upper said the driver of an approaching tractor-trailer failed to steer into the left lane and instead locked the brakes as the truck got close to the crash scene.
The truck ended up clipping the left side of a pumper truck, missing parked police cruisers and the fire command vehicle.
Upper said no one was injured.
“The firefighters were very, very fortunate,” he said.
Upper said the fire truck is repairable, though the tractor-trailer is likely a writeoff.
OPP closed all southbound lanes of the highway following the secondary collision. Shortly after 11 a.m., OPP posted an update on social media, saying the highway had since reopened.
Upper said the collision demonstrates the importance of drivers steering clear of emergency response vehicles.
“Please, please, when you come upon an accident, try to move at least one lane from the emergency responders or tow trucks,” he said.
Failing to move over for emergency vehicles is an offence under the Highway Traffic Act that can result in fines of $400 to $2,000 and three demerit points.
OPP have not said whether the driver of the tractor-trailer is facing any charges.