OPP announce charges following fatal collision on Highway 401 in July 2023

Charges have been laid against the driver of a truck that was towing a vehicle at the time of a collision with an SUV on Highway 401 in July 2023.

The collision, which left one person deceased, occurred on Saturday, Jul. 15, 2023, at approximately 11:30 p.m. on the westbound lanes of Highway 401, just west of Marysville Road. According to the Lennox and Addington (L&A) County Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), the truck towing a car had just lost control and ended up stopped in the live lanes of the highway when the SUV collided with the truck. There were two people in the truck at the time, and three people in the SUV. One of the people in the SUV was confirmed deceased at the scene, while the other four people involved in the crash were transported to hospital with “unknown injuries,” police said.

The OPP Technical Investigators and Collision Reconstructionists assisted with the on-scene and subsequent investigation, according to police. In a press release on Monday, Oct. 16, 2023, the OPP announced that the male driver of the truck was charged in relation to the collision on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023.

As a result of the “lengthy” investigation, the OPP said that 31-year-old Desmond Price of Sudbury has been charged with:

• Operation of a motor vehicle while prohibited
• Causing death by criminal negligence
• Two counts of criminal negligence causing bodily harm

According to the OPP, Price was held for a bail hearing following his October 10 arrest, and was then remanded into custody. He is scheduled to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in Napanee “at a later date.”