One person is dead and three others were transported to hospital following a head-on crash on Highway 12 on New Year’s Eve.

The accident occurred between Concession 2 Thorah and Concession 3 Thorah around 9 p.m..

Sergeant Peter Leon of Central Region OPP says the collision involved a Kia and a Mazda. It was the driver of the Kia, Sgt. Leon says, that was pronounced dead on the scene. He was a 48-year-old man from Pefferlaw. His identity has not yet been released.

The passenger in the Kia was taken to a Toronto trauma centre, Sgt. Leon says, while the two male occupants in the Mazda were transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Alcohol is still being considered a possible contributing factor of the crash but Sgt. Leon says the investigation is ongoing. There is no word on charges at this point.

“A tragic end to New Year’s Eve,” wrote OPP Sergeant Kerry Schmidt on social media.

Sgt. Leon echoed the sentiment.

“It’s been a very, very challenging couple of weeks for the OPP when it comes to crashes, collisions and, unfortunately, fatalities…It’s supposed to be a time of year when people are celebrating and enjoying time with their families,” he says.

The highway was closed for several hours for the police investigation. It reopened shortly before 2 a.m., according to the Ministry of Transportation.

According to Sgt. Schmidt, 341 people died on OPP patrolled roads in 2017, an increase of 11 per cent from the previous year.