One person hurt after pickup hits pole head-on

A pickup truck slammed head-on into a pole Wednesday night near a busy Kitchener intersection. Waterloo regional police said one person was taken to hospital with serious, life-threatening injuries. The collision happened around 7:30 p.m. on Courtland Avenue East and Balzer Road, not far from the Manitou Road intersection.

The front of the vehicle had significant damage to its front-end. Police have not said if anyone else was hurt in the crash or if other vehicles were involved. They said the stretch between Courtland Ave., Balzer Rd. and Manitou Rd. are expected to remain closed for several hours.

Police are asking drivers to avoid the area.

As the crash happened right at the LRT tracks, between Fairview Park Mall and Block Line Station, ION trains are not running and have been replaced with shuttle buses.

Other buses that typically pass by that way, specifically Route 12 and the 201 Xpress, have been detoured.