CORNWALL ISLAND, Ontario — Inability to control smuggling on Cornwall Island led to the deaths of three people Friday, the national president of the Canadian Customs & Immigration Union said.

"It's really unfortunate that the situation has gotten out of hand," Ron Moran, Ottawa, said. "Everybody knows what's going on. Everybody knows how it goes on. The will has to be there to put an end to it."

The incident brings up questions about border security, not just about untaxed cigarettes.

"Without asking any questions, they will literally transport anything," Mr. Moran said.

Edward Kassian and his wife, Eileen, both 77, Massena, were driving home at about 8 p.m. Friday after a day trip to Montreal when their car was T-boned by a minivan at the intersection known as the four corners about 100 yards from the Canadian customs building on Cornwall Island.

The two vehicles burst into flames and neither customs agents nor the Akwesasne Mohawk Police officer who had called off the chase of the minivan's driver, Dany Gionet, 21, St. Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, could help the victims, Mr. Moran said. All three died instantly.

Cigarettes from cartons in the mini van's cargo hold littered the scene, Mr. Moran said.

Mr. Kassian, a retired Massena Central School teacher, and his wife were the parents of a senior patrol sergeant, Douglas E. Kassian, with the Massena village police. They were also the next-door neighbors of Massena Police Chief Timmy J. Currier.

"The Kassians were very well respected," Mr. Currier said. "It's a tragedy for the community and my heart goes out to the family."

Mr. Moran said he was called within hours with details of the accident because it is his job to provide good working conditions for union members.

"That's certainly not happening on Cornwall Island," he said.

Mr. Gionet had been identified by Canadian border intelligence officers involved in anti-smuggling surveillance, Mr. Moran said. He had crossed into Cornwall and may have realized he was a target of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police because he made a U-turn and darted back across the bridge.

"Why would anybody being chased go on an island?" Mr. Moran asked.

Union officials have been told numerous times that would-be smugglers worried they are being followed head to Cornwall Island, where cohorts surround police vehicles so that any chase is called off.

"This time, he was not able to find refuge and he went back to the four corners," Mr. Moran said. "The chase had been called off because it was too dangerous but he may not have known that."

Mr. Gionet blasted past a stop sign and into the Kassians' car.

A press release from the Ontario Provincial Police, which is assisting Akwesasne Mohawk Police with the investigation, doesn't mention a chase, only that police had attempted over the evening to stop the minivan driven by Mr. Gionet.

OPP Sgt. Kristine Rae declined comment on whether Mr. Gionet was a suspected smuggler or on whether he had been chased by police.

"We're not going to have anything on that until it becomes more concrete," she said. "The investigation's still ongoing."