Ontario’s police oversight agency has completed its investigation into London police after a serious crash involving a stolen vehicle sent two people to hospital last fall.
The incident occurred during the early morning hours of October 24, 2022 according to the Special Investigations Unit (SIU). At around 4:50 a.m. that morning, an officer on patrol ran a license plate check on a vehicle that matched the description of a van that had recently been reported stolen.
SIU officials say the officer followed the red, Chrysler Pacifica for a short time as it travelled south down Egerton Street before it turned east on Pond Mills Road. At that point, the officer radioed other officers patrolling the area of Pond Mills Road and Commissioners Road East and informed the suspect vehicle was heading their way.
A pair of officers responded to the call and deployed spike belts along the path of where the van was said to be heading. The van reportedly drove over the belt while travelling south on the north side of the road causing damage to several of the vehicle’s tires.
Just before 5 a.m., the SIU said the van continued south on Pond Mills Road when it struck a Lexus SUV, containing one occupant, that was driving west through a green light on Commissioners Road East.
The driver of the SUV was taken to hospital and subsequently treated for fractured ribs and a punctured lung. A woman occupying the van, being driven by a man who took off on foot from the crash site, was arrested and taken to hospital, however she did not sustain any serious injuries. The SIU did not provided any update on the man accused of stealing the van.
As a result, SIU Director Joseph Martino has determined there are no reasonable grounds to believe an officer committed a crime in connection with the crash that injured the man driving the Lexus.
“The [subject officer] was engaged in the lawful exercise of her duties when she came across the van being operated by [the male suspect] and decided to stop it,” Martino wrote in his analysis. “There is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case. The file is closed.”
A full version of Martino’s report about the incident can be read on the SIU’s website.
