One person was taken to hospital and all lanes of the Fort-Erie-bound QEW were shut down after a van smashed through a sound barrier and ended up on the highway in Mississauga Friday morning.

The collision happened at Dixie Road and the QEW shortly before 9 a.m. Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. Kerry Schmidt told CP24 that a white van appears to have smashed through a sound barrier at a dead end and landed in live lanes of traffic.

“That white cargo van was actually travelling down on Dixie Road. Dixie Road dead-ends here at the QEW and that vehicle obviously didn’t stop or missed the turn and smashed right through this concrete wall and sound wall, pushing this cement barrier into the lanes,” Schmidt said.

“As the van entered into the westbound lanes of the QEW, it was broadsided immediately on the driver’s side by that flatbed transport truck, spinning the van out of control and striking another vehicle.”

Four other vehicles were damaged in the collision or by debris on the road, Schmidt said.  Concrete debris could be seen scattered over the roadway following the crash and the van appeared to have sustained extensive damage.

The driver of the van – believed to be in his 50s – was trapped and had to be freed. He was taken to hospital in serious condition, Toronto Paramedic Services said.  

All lanes of the Fort-Erie-bound QEW were closed at Dixie Road in Mississauga following the crash. The highway completely reopened shortly before 5 p.m.

It’s not yet clear what caused the driver of the van to lose control.

“We’re not excluding any possibility at the moment,” Schmidt said.