The Toyota SUV swerved and rolled, then jumped over the top of a steel guardrail in the centre median and landed in the northbound lanes. The accident happened just before noon on Hwy. 400, near Bayfield St. in Barrie.
OPP Const. Dave Woodford said the SUV may have been cut off by another vehicle just before the crash. All five occupants, men in their late teens and early 20s, were thrown from the vehicle. None was wearing a seat belt.
The young men were on their way home from a camping trip in Algonquin Park, Woodford said.
The 17-year-old Mississaugan was airlifted overnight to St. Mike's with serious head injuries and is in critical condition.
A 19-year-old passenger from Toronto was airlifted to Sunnybrook Hospital where he died last night of his injuries.
The driver, a 20-year-old man from Woodbridge, and two other passengers — a 19-year-old from Mississauga and a 22-year-old from Toronto — were released from hospital overnight.
No other car hit the SUV after it jumped the median, but it was still badly damaged.
"It looked like a can opener just came in and ripped off the one side," the OPP officer said. "The steel guard rail was not damaged, the car cleared it totally. That should tell you something about the velocity the vehicle was travelling."
The OPP said names of the victims are not being released at this time due to the ongoing investigation.
Witnesses to the accident are asked to call the OPP Barrie Detachment at 705-726-3930.
jstewart@mississauga.net
