Three people dead after crash in Brampton

Three people are dead, and one person is in police custody following a two-vehicle collision in Brampton early Thursday morning.

Emergency crews were called to Bovaird Drive, east of Chinguacousy Road, at around 1:30 a.m. for reports of a vehicle that crashed into a pole.

"At the time, there were varying reports that there may have been a second vehicle involved and that there may have been high speeds," Peel police Const. Tyler Bell said.

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Three young male adults who were travelling in a Volkswagen Jetta were found at the scene of the crash. Police said first responders tried to revive them, but all three were pronounced dead. Their identities have not been released pending next-of-kin notification.

Meanwhile, a second vehicle, a Nissan Altima, was subsequently located abandoned at a gas station near the scene, and a man believed to be the driver of that vehicle was arrested at a residence, Bell said.

"Based on the condition of the vehicle, we associated that with the crash here. Evidence at the scene confirmed that," he said, adding that the man could at least face charges of three counts of failure to remain to cause death.

Bell said the police's working theory is that the two vehicles travelling west on Bovaird Drive were involved in a high-speed interaction.

"The sequence of events, how they came into contact, that's all part of the investigation from our Major Collision Bureau," he said.

When asked if the vehicles were racing prior to the crash, Bell said he cannot confirm that information at this time.

"Both of those vehicles, at some point, had some involvement with one another," he said. "The preliminary reports that came into police was that there was some sort of racing going."

Bovaird Drive was closed for more than 15 hours as police investigated the deadly collision.