By Maan Alhmidi in Toronto
Four Chinese students were killed in a "serious car accident" in the Huntsville area over the weekend, the Chinese consulate in Toronto said on Monday.
The Consulate-General of the People's Republic of China in Toronto released information on the crash after four teens and a woman were killed in the collision late Saturday night.
"Four Chinese international students have been confirmed dead in a collision on Highway 60 near Huntsville on Nov. 25," the consulate wrote in an email to The Canadian Press.
"Since the case is under investigation and for privacy reasons, we have no more information to share at the moment."
In a written statement posted online earlier Monday, the consulate said the Chinese embassy had verified the details of what happened with Ontario Provincial Police.
"Four Chinese students died in a serious car accident near Toronto," the consulate wrote in its statement. "Our embassy immediately activated the emergency mechanism and verified the situation with the Ontario Provincial Police."
The consulate also said it had contacted the families of the victims.
"We immediately reached out to the students' families," the statement said. "We are continuing to follow up on the progress of this incident."
OPP have said the crash involved a Mercedes SUV and a Ford SUV.
Police said the people in the Mercedes were four teens – aged 15 to 17 – from Toronto and nearby Richmond Hill, Ont. Their names were not immediately released.
Police said three of the teens in the Mercedes died at the scene and the fourth died later in hospital.
They said a 42-year-old Huntsville woman driving the Ford died at the scene. Police initially said she had died in hospital.
The woman who died in the collision was identified in an online fundraiser as Jessica Lynn Ward. The GoFundMe campaign said Ward was a mother of two teens.
"Jessica’s life was tragically cut short when she was killed in a motor vehicle collision on Hwy 60 in Huntsville the evening of November 25," the fundraiser said. "Please continue to rally around Jessica’s family as they try to navigate life without her."
- with files from Nono Shen in Vancouver.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 27, 2023.
