Toronto, Ontario -- A winter snowfall has walloped the Greater Golden Horseshoe region, dropping more than 20 centimetres of snow.
The weather, which occured on Jan. 15, led to more than 400 collisions across the region, according to the OPP. In a post on X around noon, the police said about 200 collisions had taken place in the area and that 125 vehicles were stuck and waiting for a tow truck. By that evening, as snow continued to fall, the number of crashes and requests for service ballooned to more than 400.
In Toronto, the Don Valley Parkway was closed for several hours as crews cleared out multiple accidents, and the southbound lanes of Hwy. 400 were closed for five hours following a crash involving a transport truck and a car. One person was hospitalized with serious injuries.
“This is a great day to take it easy and not be out there on the roads,” said OPP Sgt. Kerry Smith Thursday on a social media post.
It was the snowiest January 15 in the city’s history. Toronto International Airport recorded 22 centimetres of snow. The previous record set for that day was 1863, when 15.2 centimetres of snow fell. In other parts of the GTHA, 53 centimetres fell in Scarborough, 45 centimetres in Markham, and 21 centimetres in downtown Toronto.
Collision repair shops across the GTHA braced for an influx of damaged vehicles as crews worked to clear the roads and ditches of cars.
“Right now, our operations are managing okay,” said Ginnie Brar of 4 Wheels Auto Collision in Brampton on Friday morning. “We haven’t received a lot of vehicles yet directly from the storm but sometimes it takes a while for them to arrive, depending on what the customer wants to do.”
As of Friday afternoon, many roads and highways were still snow covered or partly covered with underlying black ice, so police were advising motorists to still be cautious and drive for the conditions. More snow was expected Friday night.
Linda, an administrator at Assurance Collision Repair in York, said managing customer expectations is key for both customer service and maintaining operational workflow.
“We’re transparent,” she said. “And we’re prepared, of course. We get [vehicles] in and get them out.”
As quickly as collision repair shops try to get cars back to customers, there are barriers.
“I’m on hold for 40 or 50 minutes with insurance companies,” added Brar. “Sometimes it takes a lot of time to get through with so many people calling.”
