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A woman has died after a 40-vehicle crash Friday on Highway 11 south of Orillia, Ont.
Police said a woman in her 20s was killed in the crash, which occurred in the highway's southbound lanes.
"Regrettably, we have had one person who has been killed here at the scene," said Ontario Provincial Police Const. Peter Leon.
"A driver of one of the motor vehicles exited her car, and was struck and killed by another vehicle that was part of the chain-reaction crash."
The series of collisions began around 9:30 a.m., Ontario Provincial Police said, when a tractor-trailer crashed into a ditch.
Flares were lit around the accident site, but around an hour later, a severe snowsquall caused whiteout conditions that led to a series of vehicles slamming into the truck, the OPP said.
"The snow squall came in very quickly," Leon said.
"It was accelerated by some very strong winds that were passing through the area, which resulted in zero visibility."
Four other people were sent to hospital with minor injuries, police said.
Mike Lazaridis was on his way to check out a property when he got tangled up in the crash.
"I saw brakes, I applied my brakes, and then I tried swerving everywhere around it and I couldn't avoid it," he said.
Tractor-trailer driver Randy Stott also wound up in the crash. He said before the collision, he saw many people driving far too fast for the snowy conditions.
"People were going by me, and I was doing 80 km/h," Stott said.
"It was just not driving according to the conditions, that's all."
Police are reminding drivers to slow down in poor weather, and they urge drivers involved in highway accidents to remain inside their vehicles until help arrives.
The highway had been cleared up Friday night, but Environment Canada still had a snow squall warning issued for the area.
Police were asking anyone who didn't have to be driving in the area to stay home.