TORONTO — Two cops are going through felony charges for his or her alleged involvement in a lethal wrong-way freeway pursuit that killed 4 individuals, together with an toddler and his grandparents, Ontario’s police watchdog mentioned Friday.
TORONTO — Two cops are going through felony charges for his or her alleged involvement in a lethal wrong-way freeway pursuit that killed 4 individuals, together with an toddler and his grandparents, Ontario’s police watchdog mentioned Friday.
The Particular Investigations Unit mentioned two Durham regional cops have every been charged with three counts of felony negligence inflicting dying and two counts of felony negligence inflicting bodily hurt.
The April 2024 crash on Freeway 401 east of Toronto instantly raised questions on why police allegedly pursued a theft suspect into oncoming visitors on considered one of Canada’s busiest highways.
The following six-vehicle crash additionally significantly injured the toddler boy’s mother and father, who have been all travelling collectively in a sedan.
Durham regional police Chief Peter Moreira referred to as it a “tragic and catastrophic occasion that devastated a household and profoundly impacted a neighborhood.”
He declined to reply questions in regards to the SIU’s findings in a quick information convention on Friday. He mentioned the pressure would additionally conduct its personal inside investigation as required by regulation.
The SIU declined to supply additional remark with the case earlier than the courts.
The watchdog has beforehand mentioned Durham officers gave chase round 8 p.m. on April 29 to a cargo van recognized as a automobile of curiosity in an alleged Clarington, Ont., liquor retailer theft reported by an off-duty officer.
Police pursued the cargo van by native streets and ultimately adopted it into oncoming freeway visitors at Stevenson Street in Oshawa.
The 21-year-old man driving the cargo van died within the crash and a 38-year-old male passenger was injured.
The grandparents killed within the crash had simply arrived in Canada from India for a household go to days earlier than, their son mentioned.
In an announcement shared by SIU shortly after the crash, Gokulnath Manivannan mentioned shedding his 60-year-old father, 55-year-old mom and three-month-old son had left him with profound grief.
The 2 officers who’ve been charged are set to look in an Oshawa courtroom on February 13.
Moreira, the police chief, mentioned the officers had been suspended with pay and they might be assigned to administrative duties “if and when they’re reinstated.”
He mentioned he believed one officer had over 32 years of expertise whereas the opposite had 4.
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Jan. 17, 2025.
The Canadian Press
