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pc28¹ÙÍøpolice responded to the collision on  eastbound off-ramp just after 12:30 a.m. on Sunday. A mother, her four children and an adult acquaintance were stopped at a red light on Renforth Drive when they were hit by a vehicle exiting the highway, police said.

A 19-year-old was driving in a vehicle alone when he struck the vehicle with six occupants inside, police said .

Two children were pronounced dead at the scene and a third was declared dead in hospital.

The fourth child was taken to a trauma centre in serious but non-life-threatening condition. The two adults in the vehicle, the children’s mother and a man were also taken to trauma centres in serious but non-life-threatening condition. 

The 19-year-old driver was arrested at the scene and is facing charges related to impaired driving, police said.

The mangled remains of two vehicles were towed away from the crash site at around 10:20 a.m. Sunday, as police continued their investigation at the scene of the fatal crash. Debris was strewn all over the roadway near the entrance of the ramp to Highway 427 South from Renforth Drive. Access to Renforth Drive remains closed at Eglinton Avenue West. Fire crews and police were observed at the scene located near Highway 401 and Renforth Drive.

Fire crews left the scene shortly before 11 a.m., but three police cruisers remained on site, two of which were being used to block vehicle and pedestrian access to Renforth Drive near the crash site

Investigators allege a 19-year-old man driving a 2015 Dodge Caravan was travelling at a high speed when he lost control of the vehicle on the exit ramp and crashed into a northbound 2022 Chrysler Pacifica.

The Pacifica had been stopped at a red light when it was hit, acting inspector Baheer Sarvanandan said in an update. The Dodge Caravan, travelling eastbound, had been exiting the 401 off-ramp when it failed to stop at the red light, drove over a raised median and collided with the north-facing Pacifica.

The Pacifica’s driver, a 40-year-old man, along with two passengers, a 35-year-old woman and a 10-year-old boy, were rushed to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. A 13-year-old boy and a 15-year-old boy died on the scene, while a 6-year-old girl was pronounced dead in hospital, police said.

The 35-year-old woman was the mother of the four children in the van, while the driver was an acquaintance, officers said.

The Dodge driver, Ethan Lehouillier of Georgetown, has been charged with three counts each of impaired operation causing death, impaired operation causing bodily harm, dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing bodily harm. He was arrested at the scene.

The crash is one of the worst since three children and their grandfather were killed after an impaired driver ran a stop sign in Vaughan in 2015, crashing into the family’s vehicle. Marco Muzzo pleaded guilty to impaired driving causing death and bodily harm.