Three people are dead and two people are in the hospital with life-threatening injuries following a crash involving two SUVs in Pickering.
Officers with the Ontario Provincial Police’s (OPP) Toronto detachment and other emergency crews were called to an area of Highway 7 near Concession Road 6 around 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said a westbound SUV drifted into the eastbound lanes and collided with an SUV travelling east on the highway.
An 82-year-old woman, a resident of Port Perry, Ont., who was the lone occupant of the eastbound vehicle, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Two of the four people in the westbound SUV were pronounced dead at the scene: a 63-year-old woman from Markham and a 68-year-old woman from Scarborough, who were both seated in the back seat of the vehicle.
The driver of the westbound vehicle, a 64-year-old man from Markham, suffered critical injuries in the crash, as well as a third passenger, a 70-year-old man from Richmond Hill, who was sitting in the front seat.
The circumstances that led up to the crash are not yet known.
“At this time we do not believe weather or environment factors or mechanical issues contributed to this crash. There is no indication of alcohol at this time. The investigation is still ongoing,” Schmidt said.
Police believe all occupants were wearing their seatbelts at the time of the crash.