NORTH BAY — A North Bay father of nine children is believed to be among the victims of Tuesday night's massive crash on Highway 400.
Benjamin Dunn, a trucker, is believed to be driving one of the trucks involved in the crash, according to his wife.
Nikiyah Mulak-Dunn, posted on Facebook that she was heartbroken, devastated and in shock.
A gofundme page has been set up to help the family.
Police have not formally identified the three confirmed victims and the investigation is ongoing.
Five tractor-trailers were involved in the crash, including two, fully loaded fuel tankers.
Police say traffic had slowed because of a previous accident when a transport slammed into the string of motorists waiting to get past the first accident.
Police are looking into all possible factors but are theorizing distracted driving may be the cause.
"One of the working theories is that one of the transport trucks that slammed into the back of stopped traffic was inattentive," said Schmidt in an update Thursday morning.
"If it was driver inattention, I hope it makes a huge statement to all those on the roads," said the veteran officer who described it as an 'apocalyptic type of scene.'
Police will be speaking to witnesses and processing forensic evidence in a bid to determine exactly what happened.
Five people who were taken to hospital have been treated and released, Schmidt said, also confirming that the three victims were in separate vehicles.
The OPP reported Thursday morning that all lanes of Highway 400 were reopened.
However, the right lane will be closed northbound around 9:30 this morning for environmental cleanup, said Schmidt.
