Stolen truck chase ‘could have been much worse,’ says chief

A Saskatoon police officer shattered the calm of a residential cul-de-sac by firing two rounds at a speeding stolen truck — apparently missing the men inside — minutes before the truck’s driver died in a high-speed crash that followed the ramming of police car.

Now, an outside police officer will oversee an investigation into the Monday night car chase, which left the 22-year-old driver dead and a police officer briefly hospitalized with neck and hip injuries, says Saskatoon police Chief Clive Weighill.

“It certainly could have been much worse, specifically when the vehicle rammed the police car. It pushed it about 100 feet, right off the cul-de-sac into a driveway. Severe damage was done to the police vehicle,” Weighill told reporters on Tuesday at a news conference.

The chase began at 9 p.m. Monday when the police air support unit, which was tracking a stolen truck, saw it park in the city’s north end and two men and a woman get out. Officers tried to arrest the suspects, but the men got back into the truck after seeing the police cruiser, while the woman ran away.

Witnesses reported hearing a revving engine and the sound of gunfire as the black truck rammed the police cruiser and sped from the scene. Weighill said a pursuing police car activated its lights as the truck reached the intersection of Circle Drive and Idylwyld Drive.

The truck, which reached speeds of up to 150 km/h, hit a second truck head-on at the intersection.

The driver of the stolen truck was pronounced dead at the scene. The 33-year-old passenger was taken to hospital and later arrested on outstanding warrants. A firearm and ammunition were found inside the vehicle.

The driver of the vehicle that was struck by the stolen truck was taken to hospital and later released.

Weighill said the stolen truck had been sitting with its keys inside when it was stolen. He said about 65 per cent of vehicles stolen in the city have their keys left in them.

Weighill said it’s always a tough decision whether to pursue a stolen vehicle.