The mayor of Coquitlam, B.C., says he is heartbroken after a woman and two children were killed in a multi-vehicle collision on a busy stretch of highway.

RCMP say a 30-year-old woman was travelling in one vehicle and two children, ages 3 and 9, were in another vehicle before the crash on Friday around 6:30 p.m. All three died.

A third vehicle was also involved in the crash. Police said a total of five people were taken to hospital with varying injuries.

Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart visited the scene Friday evening. He called the incident his community’s “worst nightmare.”

Stewart said one of the reasons he went to the crash scene was to make sure first responders would be able to get the help they needed.

“They saw horrific things last night,” he said Saturday. “They see it regularly enough but, my goodness, this was among the worst I’ve ever seen.”

Alcohol and drugs have been ruled out as factors in the crash, but police continue to canvass for video footage that could aid in their investigation.

The stretch of Lougheed Highway where the collision occurred has no barrier between lanes of traffic travelling in opposite directions. It has been the scene of deadly collisions before.

Mayor Stewart said that city engineers have been working on redesigning that stretch of the road. “We’ve got work to do as a community to try to find that solution,” he said.

With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Ben Miljure