OTTAWA — Two adults suffered life-threatening injuries Wednesday afternoon and two young children were taken to Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario after a three-car crash on Roger Stevens Drive between between McCordick and Malakoff roads.

A 35-year-old man in one vehicle suffered a life-threatening head injury and a chest injury in the crash and was in critical condition in hospital. The mother of two children, a girl aged three years and 18-month-old boy, was reported to have life-threatening head injuries, a broken arm and two broken legs and was in critical condition.

The woman, believed to be in her late 20s or early 30s, was extricated from her vehicle in a process that took almost 45 minutes. The car roof was cut off, the doors were removed and the dashboard was also taken away. The driver of the Acura had escaped his car when emergency services personnel arrived on the scene. He was airlifted to the trauma unit in the Civic campus of The Ottawa Hospital.

According to witnesses on the scene, the two children, who were in car seats, almost miraculously did not appear to have suffered serious injuries. The 18-month-old was not hurt. The three-year-old suffered minor facial and neck injuries and was in stable condition. The woman’s vehicle, a green four-door Ford, was almost demolished in the collision that involved a silver Acura, driven by the seriously injured man, and a Napa auto parts vehicle, the driver of which did not appear to have been injured. He remained on the scene talking to police investigators. A police spokeswoman said Roger Stevens would be closed for much of Wednesday evening between McCordick and Malakoff.

OTTAWA-A mother whose two young children were saved by their carseats after a devastating three-car collision near Kars was fighting for her life in hospital Wednesday evening, along with a 35-year-old man traveling in another car.

The mother, believed to be in her early 30s, suffered life-threatening head and internal injuries, two fractured legs and a fractured arm, paramedics said. She was listed in critical condition Wednesday night.

It took firefighters 45 minutes to extract her from the wrecked green Ford Taurus she was driving. The roof and doors had to be cut away, and the dash of the car had to be ripped away from her, said fire department spokesman Marc Messier. The accident happened at about 3:50 p.m. on Roger Stevens Drive near North Gower, between McCordick and Malakoff roads. The straight stretch of two-lane road is bordered on either side by houses, farms and fields. 

At the scene late Wednesday afternoon, the torn-apart Taurus sat in the westbound lane’s ditch. Another badly damaged vehicle, a silver Acura EL, lay sideways across most of the eastbound lane.

 The third vehicle, a white Napa Auto Parts car driven by 61-year-old employee Al Macleod, appeared much less the worse for wear. Macleod, who appeared to be unhurt, remained at the scene after giving a brief statement to police, then waited for collisions unit investigators to arrive. Thankfully, he was assessed by paramedics, but didn’t need to be taken to hospital.

The woman’s two children, both strapped safely into their carseats, escaped relatively unharmed While their mother was taken by ground ambulance to The Ottawa Hospital’s trauma unit at the Civic campus, the children were taken to the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario for closer examination, paramedic spokesman J.P. Trottier said. The boy was unhurt, while his older sister received only minor injuries to her face and neck, likely from debris flying in the car, Trottier said. The driver of the other heavily damaged silver Acura, a 35-year-old man traveling alone, was airlifted to the trauma unit. He had life-threatening head and chest injuries, and was listed in critical condition Wednesday night. When firefighters arrived at the scene, the badly injured man had somehow already managed to get himself out of the wrecked car, Trottier said. Details about the crash were sketchy Wednesday night. The position of the cars didn’t betray the direction they had been travelling, and it was unclear who hit whom or why. Collisions investigators were unavailable for comment. At a closed-off intersection nearby, Macleod’s wife, Kim, and 19-year-old son Kyle waited in a truck for news, thankful that Al walked away from the crash.

Kim said she received the call from Napa, whom Macleod had radioed right after the accident.“He was still pretty scattered when I talked to him,” she said. “He wanted to make sure I knew he was OK.“He retired a couple of years ago, and he does this for something to do, and it’s getting far too exciting for him.” The investigation into the crash was ongoing Wednesday night.

With files from Dave Rogers