A massive wall of snow erased visibility on highways across southern Ontario Thursday morning, triggering one of the winter’s worst multi-car accidents and killing at least one driver.

The biggest pileup occurred when 96 cars were caught in a snow squall on Highway 400 near Barrie around 9 a.m. Images of the scene show shattered glass and metal strewn across the cramped roadway.

Surprisingly, only three people were taken to hospital with minor injuries, the Ontario Provincial Police confirmed.

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Snow reportedly limited visibility to just a few metres, causing drivers to move at a snail’s pace.

“It could have been a lot worse,” Sgt. Dave Woodford told the CBC. “People were slowing down.”

Officers sawed a metal guardrail to pieces to create a passageway for drivers to leave the crash. Warming buses were on scene as temperatures dropped well below -20C, while paramedics treated several minor injuries.

One driver caught in the mess said the whiteout descended suddenly, halting traffic to a near standstill. Highway 400 remained closed throughout the afternoon as officials waited for conditions to improve for travellers. By about 8:45 p.m., all lanes were fully reopened.

“This came out of nowhere,” said Sean Atkinson, 36, who was forced to cancel a morning appointment in Toronto. “It’s crazy.”

Similar accidents spanned the region, particularly in the north. The OPP reported pileups in Port Perry, Dufferin County and on Highway 89 between Cookstown and Alliston.

Around the same hour as the Barrie crash, one person was killed in a collision near Sarnia.

Between 15 and 30 vehicles were reportedly caught in the pileup near Oil Heritage Rd. and Highway 402, which was roughly two kilometres long. Officials have yet to release the victim’s identity.

In Whitchurch-Stouffville, one man was sent to hospital with life-threatening injuries around 3 p.m. after he left his vehicle to assess some damage.

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A pickup truck rear-ended a nearby vehicle and hit the driver in its path. He was rushed to hospital in critical condition, the OPP confirmed. The victim’s current condition is unclear.

A second person was also taken from the scene with minor injuries.