Highway 69 has reopened, following a fatal four-vehicle crash near Parry Sound.
Provincial police say a southbound tractor trailer hauling cattle crossed the centre line and struck the blade of a northbound plow truck on the highway, north of Harris Lake Road on Thursday, at around 9:20 p.m.
Police say the tractor trailer then hit a northbound minivan and continued southbound, where it collided head-on with another transport truck. The OPP say the impact sent both tractor trailers into a rock cut, where they became engulfed in flames.
According to police, a body has been removed from the cab of the transport truck that was hauling cattle. The five occupants of the minivan suffered non-life threatening injuries, while the driver of the plow and the other transport truck were uninjured.
While firefighters were trying to extinguish the blaze, investigators say someone opened the hatch of the tractor trailer and approximately 80 cows rushed out.
A tanker truck responding to the scene collided with one of the cows, killing it instantly. The truck sustained major damage, as a result. Eight other cows died in the incident.
The road was closed for roughly 19 hours between Highway 124 and Highway 522.
Work was also being done to round up the cattle that scattered into the nearby bush.
The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers.
