1 dead following wrong-way crash on Hwy. 417 in Ottawa's east end

The driver killed in a head-on crash on Hwy. 417 in Ottawa's east end was driving eastbound in the westbound lanes when the vehicle collided with a second vehicle, according to Ontario Provincial Police.

A 37-year-old woman from Gloucester is dead and two other people were transported to hospital with serious injuries following the crash in the westbound lanes of Hwy. 417 at the Aviation Parkway shortly after 3:30 a.m. Thursday. The westbound lanes of the highway reopened just after 12:30 p.m. 

Photos from CTV News Ottawa's Katelyn Wilson show a badly damaged sedan facing eastbound on the highway, while the second vehicle was in the ditch.

OPP Const. Michael Fathi says one of the vehicles involved in the crash was travelling eastbound in the westbound lanes of the highway. OPP dispatch received 9-1-1 calls reporting a vehicle travelling the wrong way on Hwy. 417 shortly before the crash.

"Shortly after that initial call, there was a collision that occurred and driver of the wrong-way vehicle was pronounced deceased at the scene," he said. "The investigation is still ongoing."

Ontario Provincial Police say a woman was killed in a two-vehicle crash on Hwy. 417 at the Aviation Parkway early Thursday morning. (Katelyn Wilson/CTV News Ottawa)

"The lone occupant that was deceased at the scene was trapped in their vehicle and it did require teamwork between Ottawa fire and the Ottawa paramedics to care for the patient while firefighters were getting the patient out," said Ottawa Paramedic Service spokesperson Marc-Antoine Deschamps.

Two people in the second vehicle were transported to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

The OPP technical collision investigators were still on the scene late Thursday morning. The highway was closed for nine hours before reopening just after 12:30 p.m.

"We have the technical collision investigators that are trying to reconstruct exactly what happened and caused the accident," Fathi said.

It remains unclear where the driver got onto the highway and for how long she was travelling the wrong way. It's also unknown if alcohol or drugs were factors.

One of the vehicles involved in a two-vehicle crash on Hwy. 417 in Ottawa ended up in the median. Ontario Provincial Police say one of the vehicles involves was travelling eastbound while in the westbound lanes Thursday morning. (Katelyn Wilson/CTV News Ottawa)

The identity of the driver who died has not yet been released.

In a news release late Thursday, OPP said it was aware that some drone footage of the crash scene which included the victim were circulating on social media. 

"The victim's family had viewed these photos on social media sites prior to being notified by police. We would like to remind the public that there can be unintended negative consequences for family members when collision or crime scene photos are uploaded to social media sites," police said.

The OPP also reminded drone operators that it is against regulations to operate a drone over a traffic collision site and warned that anyone caught violating these regulations can receive up to a $1,000 fine.

With files from CTV News Ottawa's Katelyn Wilson

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