Possible abduction sparks police chase that ends in double fatality on Highway 6

Driver refuses to stop for police in Cambridge; man and woman die as vehicle collides head-on with transport truck

WATERLOO REGIONAL Police say they were pursuing a vehicle connected to a possible abduction and assault when it crashed head-on with a transport truck, killing the man driving and the woman in a passenger seat on Highway 6.

Police received the report of a possible abduction and assault of a woman in Cambridge around 9:30 a.m. Thursday and soon found the vehicle, Insp. Mike Haffner said.

Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver refused and “a pursuit was initiated,” he said.

Shortly before 10 a.m. the vehicle crashed head-on with an oncoming transport truck on Highway 6 between Concession 10 and Concession 11 in Flamborough. The driver of the transport truck and Waterloo police at the scene were not injured.

But the unidentified man and woman in the vehicle were killed instantly.

“This is an absolutely devastating collision — massive amounts of damage, trauma and debris all across the highway,” OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said.

The twisted metal debris from the vehicle could be seen scattered across the road, with a piece embedded in the tractor trailer.

Investigators are working to determine whether the woman was the vic-

tim of the reported crime.

The highway was closed in both directions between Freelton Road and Concession 10 for much of the day, reopening around 9 p.m.

Ontario Provincial Police’s highway safety division collision reconstruction team is investigating the crash. Ontario’s police watchdog, the Special Investigations Unit, is probing the role Waterloo Regional Police played.

SIU spokesperson Monica Hudon said its investigators understand that Waterloo police were responding to a possible assault when officers attempted to stop a vehicle on King Street East in Cambridge.

The driver refused to stop and the vehicle fled, driving east on Highway 401 and then south on Highway 6 before crashing.

Hudon’s story differed from the version offered by Waterloo police in that she didn’t use the words abduction or pursuit. When asked, she said it’s not yet clear to the SIU whether either happened.

Hudon also said she couldn’t comment on the identities of those killed or the number of Waterloo officers involved. “It’s very early in the investigation.”

The SIU, a civilian agency, is called in by police to investigate when incidents involving police and civilians result in a death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault.

Asked by reporters if a pursuit would be allowed if the incident was in fact an abduction, Hudon responded by saying that would be a part of the SIU’s investigation.

“All circumstances are different. We would have to take a look at everything that happened to determine that.”

Hamilton firefighters also put out a small fire that erupted in the transport truck at the time of the crash. “It’s very severe and tragic,” said fire department spokesperson Claudio Mostacci.

Anyone with information should contact the Special Investigations Unit at 1-800-7878529 or 416-622-0748.

The remains of a vehicle that struck a transport truck head-on Thursday morning can be seen strewn across Highway 6. A man and a woman in the car were killed in the collision.

JOHN RENNISON, THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR OPP officers look at the front of the transport truck that collided head-on with another vehicle on Highway 6 Thursday morning.

JOHN RENNISON, THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR A SIU investigator, right, and an OPP investigator examine the debris. The SIU said it couldn’t comment on the identities of the victims.