Man charged in deadly 401 crash that killed multiple children appears in court

A man facing impaired driving charges in connection with a deadly Toronto crash that killed three children and sent three others to hospital briefly appeared in court Tuesday morning.

Ethan Lehouillier of Georgetown, Ont., was arrested at the scene of the crash at Renforth Drive and Highway 401 Sunday. He is facing 12 charges, including three counts of impaired driving causing death.

Lehouillier appeared by video from a detention centre wearing an orange jumpsuit. He only spoke to give his name.

The 19-year-old did not request a bail hearing Tuesday. Lehouillier is due back in court next month.

Police said the incident happened at around 12:30 a.m. Sunday at the eastbound off-ramp near Renforth Drive.

Investigators allege Lehouillier was speeding in a Dodge Caravan while heading east, when he lost control of his vehicle. The van then went over a median and collided with a Chrysler Pacifica minivan that was stopped at a traffic light.

Four children, their mother, and a family friend were inside at the time, police say. Three children, siblings aged 15, 13 and 6, were killed. Their identities are covered under a court-ordered publication ban.

A 40-year-old man who was behind the wheel of the Pacifica, a 35-year-old woman and a 10-year-old child are currently in hospital, according to police.

Toronto Police said on Sunday the family was "torn apart" in the wake of the crash.

Lehouillier's lawyer, Christopher Avery, told CBC News it's too early to say whether or not his client will be requesting bail. Avery said he is still waiting for the Crown to share evidence gathered in the hours following the crash.

Provincial vehicle records obtained by CBC News show the vehicle from the crash was listed under the name Dave Lehouillier.

When reached by phone Monday, Dave Lehouillier declined to divulge his relation to Ethan, but did say the incident was a "horrible tragedy."

"We're trying to spend time with family and piece things together," he said.

The head of MADD Canada says it's important for key messaging in preventing impaired driving to reach young men.

"If impairment was involved … it's just really frustrating to keep hearing these stories, to keep hearing about another family who's been devastated by someone else's decisions," Steven Sullivan told CBC Radio's Metro Morning on Tuesday.

"Given all the choices we have in society, especially in urban areas now, [as] alternatives to impaired driving … it's difficult to accept that people are still making these choices."

As of Tuesday afternoon, a GoFundMe page that has since been set up to support the victims's family through its loss has raised more than $143,467.

MADD Canada, or Mothers Against Drunk Driving, is a Canadian non-profit organization that aims to prevent impaired driving and support victims of it. Sullivan said while there is no "single solution" to impaired driving, a lot of work needs to be done to continue tackling the issue.

"More public awareness, more education, more enforcement. We just have to keep working to make sure that people understand that there are consequences to their actions," he said.

WATCH | Sullivan on issue of impaired driving persisting despite educational campaigns:

A 19-year-old man is facing multiple counts of impaired driving after three children were killed in a crash on Sunday. Steve Sullivan, CEO of MADD Canada, sits down with CBC's Metro Morning to discuss the ongoing issue of drunk driving and why young men are more susceptible to driving impaired.

Sullivan added that it's especially challenging for the messaging to reach young men who are often more prone to risky behaviour.

"In their minds they're invincible. They're a little bit selfish. Perhaps they don't maybe think of long-term consequences. They're impulsive," Sullivan said.

"We have some pretty hard hitting messages that I think a lot of people are impacted by, about what can happen if someone drives impaired. I don't know that [it] resonates with young men. We've been trying to shift their message more to showing them positive choices."

Sullivan said while all levels of governments could do more to get impaired drivers off roads, and public awareness and education remains key, he hopes that technology that tests driver sobriety can be a "game changer" in preventing impaired drivers from getting behind the wheel.

"As we improve technology and cars, if we adopt anti-impaired driving technology that's being developed, that will really have a huge impact on deaths and fatalities on our roads," he said.

MADD has previously pushed the federal government to pass similar legislation to the U.S. after former president Joe Biden signed into law a legal provision requiring automakers to include anti-impaired driving technology in all new cars starting in 2026.

"No impaired driver ever thinks it's going to be them, but it's always somebody who ends up paying the price for somebody else's choices," Sullivan said.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Sunday that the "person responsible for this heinous act needs to face the harshest punishment possible," in a post on X.

The crash comes five years after a comparable incident in June 2020, when a driver struck and killed a woman and her three young daughters in Brampton. The 21-year-old man was sentenced to 17 years behind bars.

It also comes nearly a decade after another impaired driver caused the deaths of three children and their grandfather in Vaughan in September 2015. The 29-year-old man was sentenced to 10 years in prison and granted full parole in February 2021.