All lanes of Highway 401 have reopened after a fiery and deadly 30-vehicle pileup near Cobourg.
While one westbound lane was reopened in the morning, eastbound traffic was rerouted until the dinner hour on Friday.
Meanwhile, the Ontario Provincial Police will honour motorists who stopped and helped victims of the horrific accident.
"It could have been a lot worse," Insp. Mike Johnston said Friday.
Two people were killed and 10 others were admitted to Cobourg's Northumberland Hills Hospital after the accident that took place over the noon hour on Thursday.
Hospital staff said three of those 10 were in serious condition, one was critical and suffered minor injuries.
Motorist Dennis Snow of Toronto was travelling west when he came upon the wreckage. He immediately jumped out of his truck to warn eastbound vehicles approaching the scene.
"I pulled over and started stopping the traffic, slowing it down," he said.
"There was one guy...he was the true hero because he jumped out and started pulling people out of their vehicles that were kind of shocked, I guess," said Snow's wife Betty.
OPP Sgt. Bob Paterson said cranes and other heavy machinery worked through the night clearing the vehicles, some of which were burned beyond recognition.
The crash near Cobourg, located about an hour east of Toronto, occurred during a freak blizzard caused by lake-effect conditions that reduced visibility to near-zero.
Twenty-three cars and seven tractor trailers were involved in the accident in the eastbound lanes, including a tractor trailer that was carrying fuel.
The rig exploded, burning more than 50,000 litres of gasoline and causing other vehicles to catch fire.
The blaze did severe damage to a 150-metre stretch of the highway and left burned-out vehicles strewn across the roadway, accounting for much of the delay in reopening the highway.
The Northumberland hospital went into emergency mode after the crash reports came in, with extra doctors and staff called in to handle the influx of patients.
The bodies of the two people killed were found still inside their vehicles. They could not immediately be removed, said Gordon Glibbery, site commander for Northumberland Emergency Medical Services.
"It appears that the initial accident occurred in front of (the tanker) involving a couple of tractor-trailers and some small vehicles," Glibbery said Thursday. "The tanker truck, in an attempt to evade the accident, itself got into an accident and exploded."
Police are not releasing the names of the deceased -- a man and a woman -- until their identities are confirmed. Autopsies are scheduled for Saturday.
Jeanette Penney and her nephew were 10 cars away from the explosion when it occurred, and waited more than three hours before they were allowed past the crash scene.
She captured dramatic images of the massive blaze, and said the accident happened during extreme weather conditions.
"It was such a blizzard that it was five minutes before we even knew why we were stopped," she told CTV.ca in an email.
"We started to see flames, but it only appeared to be one vehicle. It was approximately 30 minutes before the snow cleared away and then it was an eerie feeling to suddenly see 20 cars lined up. By then, the emergency vehicles were there, so there was nothing really that we could do to help."
Flames shot upwards of 60 feet or more, local reporter Pete Fisher told CTV Newsnet.
Ted Amsden, another local reporter, said he spoke with a man who saw the tanker truck explode as he tried to rescue several people from the pileup.
"As he was about to put his hand on the handle to open the door, the tanker blew up, driving him back," Amsden said. "Despite the man's screams, he couldn't help him."
Traffic was re-routed south onto Highway 2 between Grafton and Port Hope and drivers were delayed for several hours.
Hundreds of transport trucks were parked for most of the day. Some of the drivers, who had to wait to give witness statements, were given food and water by police and transportation officials. Other motorists were put up at area hotels.
Johnston commended the community for its response during the tragedy.
"The community has been simply tremendous. We've had various people come out and provide people with food and coffee," he said. "It's simply outstanding assistance."
Police have not commented on the cause of the crash, but heavy snow was falling and visibility was poor at the time of the accident.
With a report from CTV's Jim Junkin
