One person has been taken to hospital in critical condition after a crash on Highway 401 near Tilbury.

Chatham-Kent OPP say a vehicle struck the back of a tractor trailer on the highway between County Road 42 and Queens Line around 12 p.m. on Monday.

Police say the lone occupant driver of the passenger vehicle was transported to a hospital with life-threatening injuries. 

OPP Constable Jim Root calls the scene traffic.

“They’re all tragic and it's unfortunate especially with speeds out on the highways,” says Root. “Even if people are doing the speed limit at 100km/h to collide with another vehicle, even going in the same direction, is... They're quite violent crashes.”

The driver of the tractor trailer was not injured.

The collision forced the closure of the eastbound lanes of the 401, east of County Road 42, for several hours.

The section of highway re-opened after 6 p.m.