Five children killed in Ontario van crash, infant among the injured

The crash at 4th Line and Wellington Road 12 in Mapleton Township raised immediate questions about how a rural intersection, a crowded passenger van and the speed of emergency response came together in seconds. Five children died and an infant was seriously injured after the van collided with an SUV around 7:30 p.m. on Friday, June 12, 2026, northwest of Guelph and Kitchener-Waterloo.

Ontario Provincial Police said the collision involved a passenger van carrying 10 people and an SUV carrying one person, for 11 people total. The five children who died were all related: four girls and one boy, ages 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12. Police said the family was from Elmira, Ont., turning the tragedy into a devastating loss for one household and a wider community already confronting the scale of the wreck.

The people injured in the van included four adults and the infant, and police said the driver of the SUV was also hospitalized with critical or serious injuries. The adults hurt in the van included the children’s parents and two older adults believed to be their grandparents. At least three injured people were airlifted to trauma centres, while others were taken to local hospitals because the scene was so chaotic.

OPP Superintendent Dwight Thib called it an “unimaginable loss” and said victims received immediate care in part because Good Samaritans stopped to help before emergency crews fully took over. Mapleton Township Mayor Gregg Davidson said the community was grieving and that supports were available for volunteer firefighters and other first responders who faced the aftermath on scene. Ontario Premier Doug Ford also offered condolences, saying his thoughts were with the children, their loved ones and the other crash victims in hospital.

The collision underscored how quickly a single impact on a rural road can overwhelm local resources. One van, one SUV and 11 people became a mass-casualty response in a matter of moments, with trauma flights, local hospital transfers and a long list of families and responders left to absorb the consequences.