A five-year-old girl was killed in a crash on Dalhousie Drive, Winnipeg police said Thursday.

Const. Jay Murray told media the crash happened at about 1:40 p.m. Wednesday.

Police said three children were taken to hospital after the collision. A one-year-old and four-year-old were taken in stable condition, while the five-year-old was taken in critical condition.

She later died.

It’s believed a vehicle carrying the children was travelling westbound on Dalhousie Drive when it collided with a vehicle travelling eastbound.

There were two child car seats in the vehicle, but three children seated in it, Murray said. It’s not yet known which of the children were sitting in the car seats, he said.

The children’s mother was driving, but she was not physically hurt.

The Pembina Trails School Division says the 5-year-old victim was a Ryerson kindergarten student.

In a statement to CTV News, Superintendent Ted Fransen writes:

“Our thoughts are with family and friends during this extremely difficult time. The focus right now is supporting family, students and staff. Pembina Trails School Division’s student services team, including social workers and psychologists, have spent the day at the school offering additional assistance and expertise. We would ask that our community be respectful and allow the family privacy to grieve this tragic event.”

At the scene, a van with front-end damage could be seen with its back end on the boulevard. It’s not known how many people were in the other vehicle or whether anyone was injured.

Murray added speed may have been a factor.

“If you look at the amount of damage that both vehicles sustained, you would think maybe speed was a factor in this case,” he said.

Murray said the tragic crash is a reminder to the public to slow down and pay attention to laws regarding the safety of children in vehicles.

“It’s a reminder that summer’s here, everyone seems to be in a rush to go different places and it’s absolutely imperative and critical that children are safely restrained,” Murray said.

According to Manitoba law, children must be in an appropriate car seat until they’re at least nine years old or at least 145 centimeters in height and or 36 kilograms in weight, he added.

The investigation is ongoing by Winnipeg police’s traffic division.

Police are asking anyone who witnessed the crash to call in with any information that could help investigators. They can also call Crime Stoppers. 

-With a file from CTV's Jon Hendricks