The community of Elmira, in southern Ontario, came together on Saturday for the funerals of five children from the same family who were killed in a two-vehicle crash near Guelph the previous week. The gathering marked one of the most painful days yet for a region still struggling to absorb the scale of the loss.
On the same day, police confirmed a further death from the collision. Ontario Provincial Police said the driver of the sport utility vehicle that collided with the family's van had since died. Officers said they were still piecing together what led to the crash, and were offering support to witnesses as well as to the people who had stopped to help in its aftermath.
The five children had been travelling in a large passenger van, together with five other people, when it collided with the SUV. Their mother remains in hospital, while their father and their 15-month-old brother are recovering, as relatives face the devastating task of mourning so many at once.
Police had said from the outset that all of those who died were related, members of the same family. The children killed were four girls and one boy, ranging in age from just four years old to twelve, a span that underscored how young all of the victims were.
According to the early account given by investigators, ten people in total had been travelling together in the van, while a single person was at the wheel of the sport utility vehicle. The two vehicles collided on a quiet country route, and the force of the impact proved devastating for those inside.
The collision took place on a rural country road in the area near Mapleton. The mayor of Mapleton said the stretch of road carries a speed limit of eighty kilometres per hour, typical of the quiet rural routes that run through the region.
Officials had described the crash as an unimaginable loss. With the funerals now held and the death of the SUV driver confirmed, the provincial police investigation into the full circumstances of the collision was continuing, as the community rallied around the surviving members of the family.