6 people remain hospitalized after crash kills 5 kids as OPP launch intersection safety blitz
Posted Jun 14, 2026 06:54:12 AM.
Last Updated Jun 14, 2026 06:08:34 PM.
Six people remain in hospital following a rural Ontario crash that killed five children on Friday, police say.
Investigators say an infant, the children’s parents and two older adults believed to be their grandparents were among those hurt after a van carrying 10 people and an SUV collided.
Ontario Provincial Police say the four girls and one boy who were killed were aged 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12. The driver of the SUV, who was the sole occupant, was critically injured.
A family member said on Sunday that they were unable to provide more information as they sort out funeral arrangements and look after the people who remain in hospital.
As the rural Ontario community deals with the grief of a deadly crash, the province’s police force is preparing a new safety blitz.
The OPP’s “Stop, Look, Live” awareness and enforcement campaign will run through next week, highlighting the dangers present at intersections.
The initiative was planned far in advance of the deadly Mapleton Township crash, and the timing is a “tragic coincidence,” OPP media relations officer Derek Rogers said in an emailed statement.
From 2021 to 2025, almost 5,000 motor vehicle collisions were recorded, and about a quarter of those collisions were intersection-related, according to the OPP.
Police said they could not yet comment on specifics of the collision, including whether seatbelts were properly used, and it could be days or weeks before more details are made public.
“This is an unimaginable loss,” OPP Superintendent Dwight Thib told reporters at police headquarters in Fergus, Ont., on Saturday while also thanking the “Good Samaritans” who stopped to help first responders, adding the victims received “immediate care” at the scene.
Gregg Davidson, the mayor of Mapleton Township, said he doesn’t yet know whether the victims are local residents.
“Our hearts go out to the family members involved, to the friends of the family,” Davidson said. “So many deceased in this one crash.”
The mayor said there are supports available for the volunteer firefighters and other first responders who were at the collision scene.
“It’s certainly not something you would want to come up upon,” Davidson said.
“Our community is strong, and our community is resilient,” Davidson added. “We’ll respond with kindness and love, like we always do.”
In a post on social media, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said his thoughts are with those involved, as well as their families and loved ones.
“This heartbreaking loss is being felt across the community and the entire province,” Ford said, calling for community members to come together in the wake of the tragedy.
Officials said the investigation is ongoing to determine the full circumstances surrounding the crash and could not yet comment on specifics of the collision, including whether seatbelts were properly used.
