Two young children and three adults were seriously injured in a major collision on Highway 417 between Palladium Drive and Carp Road in Ottawa's west end Friday afternoon.
The crash happened just after 4 p.m. on the busy highway. The highway reopened to traffic at 11 p.m. Friday.
A one-year-old girl was airlifted by ornge air ambulance to CHEO, and a three-year-old girl was treated for minor injuries, The Ontario Provincial Police said.
The one-year-old remains in critical condition at CHEO, while the three-year-old has been released.
The two children were in the same vehicle, the OPP notes.
Three adults were also transported by ambulance to hospitals in the city, including a woman in her 20s and a man in his 30s, both in criticial condition, and a man in his 20s in serious but stable condition. Two other people were assessed at the scene but did not need to go to the hospital.
Ottawa Fire Services said one of the vehicles caught fire and a driver was trapped inside. Firefighters were able to get the driver out of the car and put out the fire.
"For one of the vehicles, we did have to use heavy extrication tools to free one patient. The other patients were able to be just pulled out of the vehicles and several patients were already out of the vehicles. When we got there," chief of special operations at OFS, Dan Kirvan said on Saturday.
Ontario Provincial Police told CTV News Ottawa at the scene that the collision involved an eastbound vehicle that had crossed into the westbound lanes just west of Palladium Drive, striking another vehicle head-on. A third vehicle became involved. The exact circumstances of the crash remain under investigation.
"The vehicles were obviously in bad shape. Some of the passengers had to be extricated by fire. Some of the other passengers were already out of the vehicles and on the ground. Like I said, it was pretty chaotic, but everybody came together and did their jobs as we were trained to do," said OPP Const. Mike Fathi.
"off duty first responders stopped at the scene to render aid, including military officers. They were a big help. And of course, it's not an easy situation."
The crash closed all westbound lanes of Highway 417 at Palladium Drive. All lanes of the highway reopened at 11 p.m.