Highway 401 Tragedy: 3 Children Killed by Alleged Drunk Teen Driver | Toronto Crash News
A single reckless decision, and three young lives are lost forever.

What happened on Highway 401 is every parent’s worst nightmare.

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In the early hours of Sunday morning, tragedy struck in Etobicoke, Toronto, when a suspected impaired driver caused a devastating crash that killed three children and injured three others.

According to Toronto police, the collision happened just after 12:30 a.m. on the eastbound off-ramp from Highway 401 to Renforth Drive. A Dodge Caravan, allegedly traveling at an extremely high speed, lost control, crossed a median, and slammed into a minivan that was stopped at a red light.

Inside the minivan were a mother, her four children, and a male family acquaintance who was driving the vehicle. Tragically, a 15-year-old boy, a 13-year-old, and a six-year-old girl all lost their lives — two were pronounced dead at the scene, and one later at the hospital.

The remaining victims — a 10-year-old child, the mother, and the 40-year-old driver — were rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries. Thankfully, their conditions are now stable.

The driver of the Dodge Caravan has been identified as 19-year-old Ethan Lewilier, of Georgetown, Ontario. He was arrested on the spot and now faces multiple charges, including:

Impaired driving causing death

Impaired driving causing bodily harm

Dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death

Dangerous operation causing injury

He was the only occupant of the Dodge Caravan.

Police are now seeking witnesses or dash cam footage of the vehicle prior to the crash. Investigators described the scene as devastating, with Acting Inspector Bahir Sarbanandon saying, “A family is torn apart.”