An Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) vehicle blocks traffic on Highway 33 at the Napanee Generating Station on the morning of Wednesday, Apr. 22, 2026, following an incident that led to a vehicle driving off the road and into the water in the area the night prior. Photo by Cris Vilela/Kingstonist.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated since it was originally published. Please see bottom of article for most recently updated information.

A stretch of Highway 33 (Bath Road) remains closed after a vehicle went off the roadway near the Lennox and Napanee generating stations and entered Lake Ontario.

The incident occurred just before 11 p.m. on Tuesday, Apr. 21, 2026, after an Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) cruiser was attempting to stop a vehicle. That vehicle “hit the ditch and entered Lake Ontario,” Kristy Denette, a spokesperson for Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU), told Kingstonist the following morning.

The SIU has invoked its mandate in the investigation, as the vehicle entering the water was a police-involved incident (further details on the SIU and its mandate can be found on the agency’s website).

OPP and SIU vehicles on scene where a vehicle entered the water on the night of Tuesday, Apr. 21, 2026, after the OPP attempted to stop it on Highway 33 in Greater Napanee. Photos by Cris Vilela/Kingstonist.

It is unknown how many people were in the vehicle that entered the water, nor whether any of them ended up in the lake, Denette confirmed. After the vehicle drove into the water, multiple first responder agencies were called to the scene in an attempt to locate anyone who was in the vehicle, including the Greater Napanee Fire Department, Kingston Fire & Rescue, Lennox and Addington Paramedics, the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Trenton (which oversees aerial search operations), and the Canadian Coast Guard.

The vehicle became submerged in the lake and is no longer visible from the shore.

“The OPP is attempting to locate any occupants,” Denette said just before noon on Wednesday, Apr. 22, 2026.

The focus of emergency responders and investigators seemed to centre around this area of the south side of Highway 33, indicating it is likely the area where the vehicle entered Lake Ontario. Photos by Cris Vilela/Kingstonist.

According to Denette, SIU Forensic Investigators were on scene at that time, with more investigators and a collision reconstructionist en route.

Highway 33 is closed between County Road 21 to the east (near Napanee) and County Road 7/Church Street to the west (in Bath). The OPP East Region said that “the closure is expected to be lengthy” via social media, and noted that workers at the generating stations are “allowed to pass through the closure to access the facility.”

All other motorists are being asked to avoid the area.

Photos by Cris Vilela/Kingstonist.

The Lennox and Addington County Detachment of the OPP did not immediately respond to inquiries.

This is a developing story. This article will be updated as more information becomes available.

UPDATE (Wednesday, Apr. 22, 2026, at 2:30 p.m.):
Both the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) and the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) have issued brief press releases regarding an incident involving a vehicle entering Lake Ontario on the night of Tuesday, Apr. 21, 2026 (see above).

The statements from both agencies offered little in terms of further details, however, the SIU said that “an officer with the Lennox and Addington OPP detachment attempted to stop a driver on Bath Road” (Highway 33) at approximately 10:55 p.m.

“Shortly after, the vehicle hit the ditch and entered Lake Ontario in the area of Highway 33 and County Road 21. It is currently unknown how many occupants were inside the vehicle,” the SIU reiterated.

The SIU said one investigator, a collision reconstructionist, and two forensic investigators have been assigned to the investigation on their end. Anyone who may have information about this investigation, including video or photos, is asked to contact the SIU at 1-800-787-8529, or online at: https://siu.on.ca/en/appeals.php.

For their part, the OPP detailed the numerous agencies involved in the efforts to locate potential occupants of the vehicle, which became submerged in the lake and is no longer visible from land.

“Several resources, including the Prince Edward County OPP Marine Unit, OPP Aviation Services, the OPP East Region Traffic Incident Management and Enforcement Team, the OPP Underwater Search and Recovery Unit and the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre, were deployed and continue efforts to locate any possible occupants,” the OPP stated.

The provincial police noted that they will not be providing further information on the investigation, citing the SIU having invoked its mandate, but indicated that search efforts for anyone who may have been in the vehicle continue, as does the closure of Highway 33/Bath Road from County Road 21 to County Road 7/Church Street.

This continues to be a developing story, and further coverage will be provided as more information becomes available.

UPDATE (Wednesday, Apr. 22, 2026, at 6:30 p.m.):

Highway 33 was reopened by OPP at approximately 6:30 p.m.