MILTON – Four elderly Milton residents are in hospital following a violent head-on crash on a snow covered road.

All four suffered serious injuries Wednesday when the mini-van they were riding in collided head-on with a heavy pickup truck on the Guelph Line.

The quartet, all in their 80s, were taken to Milton District Hospital.

Halton police said the crash occurred on the Guelph Line just north of Derry Road about 4:30 p.m. as the first snow of the season began to blanket the area.

The names of the four occupants of the van – who are all related – have not been released.

Halton police Staff Sergeant Rob Andrew said  the front of the van was heavily damaged and all four occupants had to be extricated from the wreckage by Milton firefighters using hydraulic equipment.

The driver and a passenger in the pickup truck were not injured.

The crash is under investigation by the Halton collision reconstruction unit and police are asking any witnesses to contact the duty sergeant in Milton at 905-825-4747 extensions 2410.

The crash was the worst of dozens Halton police handled throughout the region yesterday as a coating of wet snow blanketed the area.

During the afternoon and rush hour Wednesday, Halton police investigated 88 collisions, most of them fender benders.

Andrew said, by way of comparison, police had only 19 collisions to contend with during the same time period the previous day.