5 dead in overnight collision west of Belleville: OPP

Five people were killed in an overnight collision between a tractor-trailer and a passenger van west of Belleville, Ont.,according to police.

At approximately 3:45 a.m. on Saturday, the Quinte West detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police responded to the collision on the westbound lanesof Highway 401, between Aikens and St. Hilaire roads.

OPP confirmed Saturday afternoon that five people in the van had died, whiletwo more were transported to hospital with serious injuries.

The tractor-trailer driver was unhurt, police added.

OPP said the names of the people killed in the crash will not be released until their families have been notified. On Sunday, a police spokesperson confirmed no children were involved in the crash.

Cause under investigation

It couldbesome time before investigators know what caused the crash, said Const. Maggie Pickett.

"The highway was closed down for 10 hours. We had traffic reconstructionists out there. So there's a lot of investigation to still take place before they're able to make those determinations," Pickett said.

The westbound lanes between Wallbridge Loyalist Road and Glen Miller Roads were initially closed but reopened Saturday afternoon.

Pickett would not comment on road or weather conditions, but according to Environment Canada data, there may have been light snow in the area at the time of the crash.