Six people remained in hospital Sunday 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 the children’s 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 members of a family from the community of Elmira, Ont., and were 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 years old. 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.
Sandy Shantz, mayor of Woolwich Township where Elmira is located, was shocked when a local councillor sent her a news report of the deadly crash.
“It’s hard when there’s any kind of accident where there’s death involved,” she said in an interview on Sunday. “But when you hear about five children and a whole family, it’s especially devastating.”
“Your heart goes out to the family, to the friends and the first responders who were on the scene.”
She said most of the information she has comes from the media, but she expects community members will get the chance to grieve and lean on one another once more details emerge.
Shantz urged people travelling through rural Ontario to drive with caution.
“Here in the rural community, we have horses and buggies, we have farming equipment, we have cyclists, we have pedestrians,” Shantz said.
“It’s just a reminder that roadways are a great thing — they help us get places — but they need to be treated carefully, as well.”
Meanwhile, the province’s police force is preparing a new safety blitz hoping to prevent collisions on rural roads.
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.
The OPP’s “Stop, Look, Live” awareness and enforcement campaign will run through next week and hopes to prevent collisions across West Region, some of which have caused multiple deaths, Rogers said.
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, thanking the “Good Samaritans” who helped first responders at the crash scene.
Gregg Davidson, the mayor of Mapleton Township, where the crash occurred, said there are supports available for the volunteer firefighters and others who witnessed the collision aftermath.
“Our community is strong, and our community is resilient,” Davidson added. “We’ll respond with kindness and love, like we always do.”
The OPP is continuing its investigation to determine the full circumstances surrounding the crash.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 14, 2026.
By Elissa Mendes | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.