OPP report a person is dead after a multi-vehicle crash on Hwy. 3 at Arner Townline in Essex on Wednesday afternoon.
Constable Stephanie Moniz reports five vehicles were involved in the crash shortly after 2:30pm.
Six people were sent to hospital with varying degrees of injuries, although none of the injuries are considered life threatening.
Police haven't yet identified the person killed in the crash.
"We have to notify next of kin. We have to give them some time to be notified and process," says Moniz.
Investigators are piecing the crash together and don't yet have a cause, but Moniz says the weather did not play a factor.
"I can't assume what happened here, but the sun and the weather really have nothing to do with it at all. It has to do with the way people are driving," says Moniz. "Any kind of crash is always as a result of drive error. It can be snowy, it can be rainy; as long as you're driving properly you're going to stay on the road."
Nicole Nantais from Essex feels lucky to have been far enough back from the crash.
"I felt like someone was watching out for me," says Nantais. "Big guy in the sky or something because I was very close to being right in the middle of it."
She was driving home from work in Leamington when she saw the crash happen in front of her.
"I was about one car length behind the accident and I don't even know what happened, just seven cars were in the air at once," says Nantais. "It happened so quick I don't even know who hit who or who was coming from where."
Nantais pulled over and called 911.
"It was shocking. I was pretty scared. I saw people climbing out of their cars into the ditch, so I was hoping everyone was okay," says Nantais.
Hwy. 3 between Arner Townline and Cameron Sideroad was closed to traffic for several hours to allow police to conduct an investigation. The Ministry of Transportation reported the road reopened just after 9pm.
