The province’s police watchdog has discovered that in March, a 19-year-old motorist crossed a red light in Scarborough, Ontario, triggering a tragic multi-vehicle crash while going almost three times the speed limit.
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) made public its report on Thursday about the March 13 morning crash near Markham Road and Milner Avenue, which resulted in the death of a 19-year-old and the serious injuries of a 50-year-old man.
The 19-year-old was operating a Mercedes-Benz SUV that police said was stolen from Peel Region, according to the SIU. Two marked Toronto police vehicles driving south came into view as he blew through a stop sign while speeding north on Scunthorpe Road near Milner Avenue.
The subject official (SO) drove one of the cruisers, according to the SIU, and it entered the northbound lane in front of the SUV while its emergency lights were on.
The SO is heard saying to one of the responding cops, “I tried to stop him because I saw him driving recklessly.” The SIU claimed that the SO’s body-worn camera recorded the interaction.
As we approached Scunthorpe, we were attempting to return to the station. It looks to me like it’s blowing the stop sign and driving north past another automobile. I light up, block the other side so that it can’t drive around me, and that’s when it ended.”
The motorist, according to the SIU, veered to the left, went around the officer’s cruiser’s passenger side, and then accelerated past the second police car.
The SUV turned and the officers followed it, heading north on Scunthorpe Road. At the intersection of the roadway with Sheppard Avenue East, they each stopped their cruisers at a red light and reported what had happened over the radio,” the SIU stated in the report.
The motorist struck another car when he headed south onto Markham Road after turning east on Sheppard Avenue East. According to the SIU, he carried on driving at speeds of about 140 km/h and higher on Markham Roads.
When the vehicle reached Milner Avenue, he ran a red light and crashed into an eastbound Honda Odyssey that was attempting a left turn.
“The SUV went airborne and struck a tractor-trailer transport truck stopped in the northbound curb lane of Markham Road,” according to the SIU. Before hitting it, the SUV was seen spinning in the air on truck footage that the SIU was able to collect. There were reports that the SUV caught fire as well.
Based on the information Toronto downloaded from the SUV
The 50-year-old man was driving the Odyssey when it struck another eastbound car. After reporting the crash over their radios, two cops who had witnessed it promptly provided assistance.
When the SO and the other pursuiting officer learnt of the crash, they were still halted at the intersection of Scunthorpe Road and Sheppard Avenue East. The SIU claimed to have responded and offered assistance.
The Mercedes SUV’s driver was declared dead after suffering severe injuries. According to the SIU, the driver of the Odyssey sustained severe injuries that required numerous procedures and a prolonged hospital stay.
Director of the SIU Joseph Martino was looking into if the previous pursuit had anything to do with the deadly crash that happened later. According to Martino, the officer had the right to
