One person is dead and several others suffered serious and minor injuries after a Tuesday evening accident on Highway 17 between Golf Road and Tupper Road.

Police released a statement indicating the driver of one vehicle was declared dead by emergency services at the scene of an accident that saw two vehicles catch fire at around 4:45 p.m. Others were taken to hospital with « varying degrees of injuries, » according to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). Police later clarified that two passengers were suffering from life-threatening injuries.

Prescott-Russell paramedics, Hawkesbury Fire Department, East Hawkesbury Fire Department all responded to the head-on collision.

Highway 17 between County Road 34 and Golf Road remained closed for eight hours before reopening around 12:40 a.m. Wednesday.

The collision remains under investigation, said the police.