Mounties say a three-vehicle crash sent six children and two adults to the hospital Wednesday afternoon.

RCMP Manitoba says a 69-year-old Lorette driver going northbound on  Road 31 E at the Highway 303 intersection in the R.M of Hanover did not stop at the intersection's stop sign. The vehicle then crashed into a westbound minivan, causing that minivan to enter oncoming traffic and hit an eastbound SUV, sending the minivan and SUV into the ditch.

When emergency crews arrived at the serious crash after 3:15, the SUV's 85-year-old male passenger was dead, and the 59-year-old Steinbach driver was suffering from critical injuries. She was brought to a Winnipeg hospital for care.

The minivan's driver, a 64-year-old Hanover woman, was airlifted to the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg with non-life-threatening injuries. The six children, aged eight to 12, were driven in an ambulance to a Winnipeg hospital, receiving treatment for their non-life-threatening injuries.

The 69-year-old driver from Lorette was not injured. 

An RCMP Forensic Collision Reconstructionist and the RCMP Criminal Collision Investigative Team are investigating. 

The Lorette woman was arrested and is facing Dangerous Operation of a Motor Vehicle Causing Death and Dangerous Operation of a Motor Vehicle Causing Bodily Harm charges. The driver is released from custody with a pending court date.

 

With files from Shannon Dueck.