Police confirm a 69-year-old Barrie woman has died from her injuries, after the vehicle she was in veered off the road, and plunged into a hole at the site of a water main break in the city’s south end.
The crash happened at Yonge Street and Big Bay Point on Saturday afternoon, shortly before 3 p.m.
Barriers had been erected to block off the intersection while repairs were being made to the water main, which had broken early Friday morning.
Investigators say the vehicle was travelling southbound on Yonge, when it plowed through the barriers.
The vehicle struck a piece of construction equipment, before coming to rest inside the massive hole.
Both of the vehicle’s occupants were extricated and rushed to hospital.
The female passenger was pronounced dead. The 78-year-old Barrie man, who police say was behind the wheel, was air lifted to a trauma centre in Toronto.
Police say he remains in hospital, receiving treatment for critical injuries.
Barrie police’s traffic unit, along with its forensic identification unit, are still investigating what caused the crash.
Witnesses at the scene tell CTV News there were two construction workers conducting repairs inside the hole at the time of the crash; they were shaken, but thankfully not injured.
The Ministry of Labour is also now investigating.
