Two people are dead and two others have been airlifted to hospital after a serious five-vehicle crash on Highway 48, near Sutton.

The crash, which involved three gravel haulers, a commercial cube van and an SUV, happened just before noon on Thursday.

While the investigation is still in its early stages, police say all the vehicles were travelling north on the highway near a construction zone prior to the crash.

“At least some of the vehicles were stopped waiting for their turn to proceed,” says OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt. “A vehicle that did not stop triggered this multi-vehicle chain reaction that resulted in two fatalities.”

Schmidt says that vehicle was travelling at a high rate of speed. He says that there is a bit of a crest in the road where the crash happened.

One person inside the van and another in the SUV were pronounced dead at the scene.

Two people, including a 10-year-old boy, were airlifted to hospital with critical injuries. Schmidt says the boy is now listed in stable condition at Toronto’s Sick Kids Hospital.

A third person was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries.

The highway is expected to be closed between Old Homestead Road and Latimer Road until midnight.