Ontario Provincial Police have identified the two people killed in a multiple vehicle collision Friday on the Fort Erie-bound QEW and released new details of how the "chain-reaction" crash happened.

The collision killed 55-year-old Vivian Moir of Georgina, Ont., and 57-year-old Thomas Kristek, from St. Catharines, said the OPP on Sunday.

Shortly after 6 p.m. on Friday, traffic was starting to slow when a minivan traveling on the QEW near Centennial Parkway did not stop in time and collided with the vehicle ahead, said the OPP.

The collision sent the minivan sideways into the adjacent lane, directly in front of an approaching transport truck, police said.

The truck hit the driver's side of the minivan, killing its occupants, Noir and Kristek, police said.

The van was then pushed back into the vehicle it had hit first, and two other vehicles were eventually involved in the "chain reaction" collision, police said.

In total, nine drivers and passengers were involved in the crash, with two other drivers suffering injuries, said the OPP.

Police closed the Fort Erie-bound lanes of the highway at Red Hill Parkway for the cleanup and investigation.