Support pours in for families impacted by fatal crash in Mapleton that killed 5 children
Posted Jun 17, 2026 06:38:48 AM.
Last Updated Jun 17, 2026 09:41:52 AM.
Police continue to investigate the circumstances that led to a fatal crash in Mapleton on Friday that claimed the lives of five Elmira children.
According to Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), an infant, the children’s parents and two older adults were among those hurt after a van carrying 10 people and an SUV collided. Four girls and one boy who were killed were members of a family from the community of Elmira and were 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 years old.
A GoFundMe has been started for a couple who were in the van, but not related to the five Elmira children who were killed in the crash.
According to the fundraiser, Elizabeth Bartsch remains in critical condition with her husband, Peter, by her side.
“As they face the long road ahead, neither will be able to work for some time, and expenses such as household bills, travel costs, and other unexpected financial burdens will continue to grow,” the fundraiser reads. “We are asking our community to come together and support Peter and Elizabeth during this incredibly difficult season.”
So far, it has raised over $26,000 to support the Bartsch family.
A separate GoFundMe has been started for the family of the five children, the Doerksen family. That fundraiser has generated over $300,000.
“I’m not usually at a loss for words. I’ve been a police officer for 28 years. I’ve seen a lot of horrific crashes. This particular crash really hits home, not only as a police officer, but as a father,” West Region OPP Sergeant Ed Sanchuk said.
OPP are running the “Stop, Look, and Live” campaign this week, targeting distracted driving and failure to stop or yield on rural roads.
“What people don’t get to see behind the scenes is knocking on someone’s door,” said Sanchuk. “That family, when you knock on their door, is never ever the same again. Their life changes forever. It never goes back to what it was. Unfortunately, we’ve done that time and time again.”
Sanchuk added that, since May 2025, his detachment has responded to three fatal crashes on rural roads, each of which resulted in five deaths.
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.
