3 children dead, 19-year-old arrested after alleged impaired crash on Hwy. 401

Three children killed; 19-year-old arrested after suspected drunken driving crash on Highway 401

Three children were killed and three others injured in a head-on collision between a car and a minivan at the intersection of Highway 401’s Renforth Drive off-ramp in the Etobicoke area Sunday morning, Toronto police said.

The crash occurred around 12:30 a.m. when a Dodge Caravan lost control at a high rate of speed and crashed into a minivan that was stopped at a red light.

Two children, ages 15 and 13, were pronounced dead at the scene, according to Detective Inspector Bahir Sarvanandan. A 6-year-old girl was also taken to hospital but sadly died.

Three other occupants of the minivan — a 10-year-old child, the mother of the family and an adult man who police said was an acquaintance of the family — were initially taken to hospital with serious injuries, but all three are now in stable condition.

The driver of the Dodge Caravan, identified as Ethan Lehuillier, 19, of Georgetown, Ont., was arrested at the scene and faces multiple charges of driving under the influence of alcohol causing death.

The charges have not yet been heard in court, but he is scheduled to appear at the Toronto Courthouse at 10 a.m.

All six occupants of the minivan were between the ages of 6 and 40, police said.

Portions of Renforth Drive remain closed as the investigation continues.

Police are asking anyone who may have seen the Dodge Caravan on the eastbound lanes of Highway 401 to call Traffic Services at 416-808-1900.

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