Three people were killed in a multiple-car crash in Quebec's Pontiac region just after 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Police say it happened on Highway 148 east of Quyon when two cars collided head-on and then crashed into two other vehicles.

Officials have confirmed 51-year-old Kevin Black and his four-year-old son, James, were two of the three killed. Black's other two children, a 14-year-old boy and 12-year-old girl, were taken to the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario.

CTV has learned Black was taking all three children to visit a relative in hospital.

Police say 51-year-old John Robertson also died. They say, without a doubt, he caused the crash while trying to pass another vehicle. 

Highway 148 reopened at 5 o'clock Wednesday morning once investigators had finished assessing the scene.

With a report from CTV Ottawa's Vanessa Lee