Police searching for black Mercedes which triggered multi-vehicle crash on QEW in Beamsville

Investigators have released an image of a car wanted in connection with a chain-reaction crash that closed a portion of the Queen Elizabeth Way for several hours on two separate days.

Provincial police say they are searching for the driver of a black, two-door Mercedes which they say was driving aggressively in the Beamsville area early Friday morning, cutting off another vehicle and sending it into the path of a tanker.

A white SUV ended up in a ditch on the side of the highway while the tanker wound up strewn across both lanes of the South Service Road adjacent to the highway, spilling some of its 50,000 litres of fuel.

Officials were unable to complete the cleanup and removal on Friday and returned Saturday morning, closing the highway to traffic for several hours between Ontario Street and Vineland as they drilled holes into the fuel container of the truck in order to remove the remainder of its contents.

“Because of the hazards of potential spark and static electricity, we can’t have traffic within 100 metres and unfortunately it’s right next to the highway,” said OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt.

The highway was reopened just before 1 p.m. Saturday.