Updated: Sun Jun. 21 2009 6:25:23 PM

ctvtoronto.ca

Three Sudbury-area teens are dead after being hit by a suspected drunk driver in the early hours of Father's Day.

Local police say the three 15-year-olds -- two girls and a boy -- were walking on the side of Municipal Road 80 when they were struck by an eastbound vehicle just after 12:30 a.m.

Sgt. Gary Lavoie told CTV that the fact that it happened on Father's Day seemed to make the deaths even more tragic.

"Today is Father's Day and certainly no family wants to have a police officer knocking on the door to advise that their child has been killed," he said Sunday.

Police were called to the scene in the north part of Greater Sudbury, in the community of Hanmer, at 12:40 a.m.

The victims were taken to hospital and pronounced dead. Their names have not yet been released.

The driver of the car, a man in his late 20s, fled the scene of the accident and later crashed into a house a quarter of a kilometre away.

Police closed the road through the morning while investigating the collision scene.

Investigators have concluded that alcohol consumption was "a significant contributing factor in the collision," a finding that angers local residents.

"There's absolutely no reason for impaired driving. I can't believe things like this still happen today," Robert Gervais told CTV.

Police arrested the driver, who remains in police custody. He is facing a number of charges, including three counts of impaired driving causing death.

With a report from CTV Toronto's James MacDonald