A 16-year-old boy has succumbed to his injuries after a vehicle veered off a roadway in Vaughan late Tuesday night and slammed into a tree.
According to police, a Kia Sportage was heading westbound on King Vaughan Road shortly before midnight when the vehicle left the roadway near Mill Road, colliding with a tree. Five teens were injured in the crash and three needed to be extricated from the vehicle by firefighters.
The driver of the vehicle, a 17-year-old girl from Vaughan, and a 16-year-old male passenger suffered minor injuries in the crash. A 16-year-old female passenger suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
A 15-year-old boy and 16-year-old boy, who are both from Vaughan, sustained life-threatening injuries as a result of the crash.
York Regional Police Staff Sgt. Andrew Bell told reporters at the scene that the victims were sent to Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital and Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto.
Police later said that the 16-year-old boy had succumbed to his injuries late Wednesday afternoon.
Road conditions in the area were dry and clear at the time of the crash.
“The road has a fairly sharp turn south and then it corrects back,” Bell said. “That would be speculating as to why the accident happened but I’m sure that may have been an impact factor.”
Police are also looking at whether impairment is a factor.
“I can’t say it’s not, but right now we don’t have any indication that it is,” Bell said.
Police noted the driver is G2 licensed. As part of the investigation, they will be looking into whether she would have been allowed to have four other passengers under the age of 19 in the vehicle at the time of the crash.
According to provincial rules, the first six months after receiving a G2 licence, drivers are only permitted to carry one passenger aged 19 and under. After that six month period, until drivers receive G licences or turns 20, they are allowed to carry up to three passengers aged 19 or under.
The rules do not apply if drivers are accompanied by a fully-licensed driver or if the passengers are members of the G2 driver’s immediate family.
King Vaughan Road is closed in both directors east of Kipling Avenue for the police investigation.
Investigators are asking anyone who witnessed the collision or saw the vehicle prior to the crash to contact York Regional Police’s Major Collision Unit.
