SOUTH PORCUPINE, Ont. — A northern Ontario First Nation is mourning the "terrible loss" of a 29-year-old pregnant mother, her two young sons and the children's grandmother in a collision.
Ontario Provincial Police say the four members of a Chapleau, Ont., family died in a collision Thursday morning on Highway 101 in northeastern Ontario.
All four were in an SUV that collided with a tractor-trailer about 70 kilometres west of Timmins, Ont., police said.
They were identified by police on Friday as Aynsley MacLeod, her children Jamaal MacLeod-Nakogee and Kruz Nakogee — aged 10 and 3 — and 61-year-old Paulette MacLeod.
"We were devastated with the news," Nishnawbe Aski Nation Deputy Grand Chief Anna Betty Achneepineskum said in a release.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with Jeff Nakogee and the entire community of Brunswick House First Nation as they struggle to come to grips with this terrible loss," Achneepineskum said.
A GoFundMe campaign been has been launched to assist the family with funeral expenses.
"We are grateful with the response to an online campaign to assist with funeral expenses, and we are deeply moved by the generosity of those who have donated," said Achneepineskum.
The GoFundMe appeal, which had raised more than $14,000 by mid-afternoon Friday, said Aynsley MacLeod was six months pregnant.
The driver of truck, 38-year-old Wade Bass of Timmins, was treated for minor injuries at a local hospital and released, OPP said.
An investigation into the cause of the collision is ongoing.
