Halton Regional Police say a 13-year-old was driving his parents’ car in Oakville early Saturday when it smashed into the centre median of the QEW, closing a portion of the highway and causing serious injuries.
Police said they received a call just before 5 a.m. for reports of a crash on the westbound QEW near Trafalgar Road.
Three teens, all from Oakville, were taken from the vehicle and brought to a children’s trauma centre in Hamilton.
Police said one of the victims, who was 13 years old, is believed to have been the driver. The teen suffered minor injuries and is in stable condition.
A 16-year-old passenger, who was in the front seat, is in serious but stable condition and a 14-year-old passenger who was in the backseat is now in critical condition.
Heffernan said all occupants were wearing seat belts at the time of the crash.
Images from the scene showed a white SUV that had suffered significant damage.
The vehicle was reportedly travelling southbound on 8th Line when it smashed through a fence at 8th Line and North Service Road.
It then entered the highway and collided with the centre median.
“They were very fortunate that they weren’t hit or that they hit another vehicle on the QEW,” Heffernan said.
Police have not laid any charges against the driver at this time but believe speed and inexperience were both factors in the collision.
“We’re going to continue to investigate the circumstances around the collision and decide what charges will be laid,” Heffernan said.
The westbound portion of the highway was closed for around four hours as police investigated, but has since reopened.
“We had a number of witnesses that stuck around and provided statements and we’re always looking for more witnesses, as well as if anyone has any video, dashcams or businesses that look onto 8th Line, we’d be looking to get a hold of those as well,” Heffernan said.
Anyone with information on the crash is asked to contact Halton police’s Collision Reconstruction Unit at 905-825-4747 ext. 5065.
-With files from Matthew Bingley