Police say seven people were taken to the hospital with serious or life-threatening injuries after two vehicles crashed on Nova Scotia’s Highway 104 on Christmas Eve.
In a media release, police said that first responders arrived at about 5:49 p.m. near the rural community of Whiteside, where they located a VW Golf and a Toyota van with “extensive damage.”
“Initial investigation indicates the car travelling eastbound and the van travelling westbound collided,” police said in a statement on Monday.
The driver of the van, a 42-year-old woman, was pulled from the vehicle by members of the responding fire department and was taken to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Four children were also in the vehicle — aged nine, seven, five, and three, along with a 36-year-old man, whose injuries ranged from serious to life-threatening of the van. Everyone in the van was from Halifax.
The driver of the second vehicle involved, a 28-year-old man from New Brunswick, also needed to be extracted from his vehicle by fire services with apparent life-threatening injuries. He was taken to hospital.
“A dog was found deceased in the car,” police added.
The area of the highway where the collision occurred was closed for several hours following the response from RCMP, EHS, and Fire services but has since reopened.
“A collision reconstructionist attended the scene and the investigation is ongoing,” police said.