Two people are dead and three others are in hospital with serious injuries after a three-vehicle crash on the Acadian Peninsula on Saturday night.
RCMP Cpl. Jonathan Simard said the collision happened on Highway 11 near Dugas, north of Caraquet, around 8 p.m. The road was closed for several hours.
Simard said three young people were in a car driving south toward Caraquet when they rear-ended another car.
The driver of the second car, with a 72-year old man and a 57-year old woman from Mainsonette in it, lost control and the vehicle was pushed into the left lane.
An oncoming SUV T-boned the couple's car. The man and woman in the car both died at the scene.
Simard said a man and woman from Grande-Anse were with their 10-year-old daughter in the SUV.
The parents were transported to a local hospital with serious injuries, while the daughter was airlifted to Halifax and is said to be in serious condition.
The three young men in the first vehicle fled the scene, Simard said.
"Later on, the vehicle was found in a gravel pit and was burning," he told CBC on Sunday.
The driver, who is under the age of 18, was "brought to the office by his parents," Simard said after police searched for him.
"The driver of the vehicle has been arrested and he's been released with promises to appear [in court] and promises given to a peace officer."
He faces charges of fleeing the scene of accident causing death and obstruction of an investigation by fleeing the scene and burning evidence.
The teenage driver and his two passengers were not injured in the crash.
The RCMP continue to investigate.
