John Tzannis says he is lucky he wasn’t more seriously injured after a 14-year-old driver rear-ended him on Highway 401 in Mississauga, sending his work van spinning into a concrete barrier early Friday morning.
The collision occurred shortly after 6 a.m. in the eastbound collector lanes of the highway near Mississauga Road.
“All I felt was something hit me from behind in the rear drivers’ side and it just spun me around,” Tzannis told CTV News Toronto on Friday. “The spinning, it was pretty intense.”
He added that two of his tires lifted off of the ground and when they landed back down, the airbags in his van deployed. The van ultimately came to a stop when it crashed into a concrete barrier, he said.
“Had that thing flipped, I would have been in some serious trouble,” Tzannis said.
“I was pretty lucky to be honest with you. I could have got clipped by another truck behind me (or) a tractor-trailer, because you know it is pretty fast on that highway.”
The impact of the collision sent the vehicle the 14-year-old was driving into a nearby ditch, police said. At one point, the vehicle in the ditch caught fire.
“I could see smoke going up in the air and then you heard a big explosion,” Tzannis said.
According to police, the teen and a passenger of the vehicle were apprehended by officers while attempting to flee the area on foot.
“I’m glad he is okay,” Tzannis said of the underage driver. “It was quite the explosion.”
An off-duty paramedic who had just finished his shift stopped to render assistance, Tzannis said.
14 years old takes parents vehicle to go get food. The 14 y/o rear ends another vehicle on #HWY401EB, Mississauga Rd. The parents' vehicle ends up in ditch & catches fire. 14 y/o & passenger flee. Caught by #MississaugaOPP.
— OPP Highway Safety Division (@OPP_HSD) July 5, 2024
Minor injuries. Charges pending. Updates to follow ^td pic.twitter.com/Bpr1w8PEYF
Police said the teenager, who cannot be identified under the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, is now facing a number of charges, including careless driving, driving without a licence, and failing to remain at the scene of a crash.
The vehicle the teen was driving belonged to the child’s parents and the 14-year-old took the car so they could “go get food,” police said in a post on social media on Friday morning.
“It could have been a lot worse,” Tzannis said, noting that no one involved was seriously injured.
“It was busy. I don’t know how I didn’t get hit again.”
With files from CTV News Toronto’s Mike Walker
