Cops tight-lipped in wake of pursuit crash
SIU, OPP and NRP refer questions to others over collision at tattoo business
Law enforcement officials remain tight-lipped following a series of events that started in Burlington and ended with a car crashing through a Niagara Falls tattoo parlour Thursday.
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit continues to investigate the incident, which Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said in a post to his Twitter page Thursday afternoon started when OPP were trying to stop a vehicle but which fled and was subsequently involved in several collisions on the QEW.
Niagara officers followed the vehicle on the QEW toward Niagara Falls. The car exited the highway and crashed into a building on Drummond Road, pinning a woman who was inside the building owned by Paradise Pools and Spas. The portion of the building through which the car drove is rented out to a tattoo parlour.
A female driver in her 20s was taken into custody.
Contacted for an update Thursday afternoon, Schmidt said he was unable to saying anything further because the SIU invoked its mandate. The SIU is the civilian oversight agency responsible for investigating any incident of serious injury or death involving police in Ontario.
“With respect to charges against the woman (driver) or her identity, you would have to contact police,” said SIU spokesperson Monica Hudon in an email Friday. “I don’t have an update on the condition of the woman in the building. I don’t have any estimates on damages (to property) as that is not something the SIU deals with.”
She said the SIU investigation is “focused on what transpired on Drummond Road leading up to the collision and the serious injury sustained by one individual who was in the building.”
“One of the police services is investigating the incidents that occurred prior,” she said.
Contacted for comment Friday, Niagara Regional Police spokesperson Stephanie Sabourin referred questions to the OPP. On his Twitter page, Schmidt referred Friday’s media inquiries to OPP Const. Lauren Ball. Ball said she could not discuss the matter, citing the SIU investigation.
In a news release Thursday, the SIU said an OPP officer began following a vehicle of interest southbound on Drummond Road. Earlier, there had been complaints regarding how the vehicle was being operated. Near Symmes Street, the car left the road, struck a parked vehicle and crashed into the business at 6293 Drummond Rd.
A 34-year-old woman who had been in the building sustained serious injuries. She was taken to hospital. Another individual in the building sustained minor injuries, the SIU release said. The driver of the vehicle did not sustain any serious injuries.
Three investigators, two forensic investigators and one collision Reconstructionist have been assigned to the SIU investigation. One subject officer and two witness officers have been designated.
The SIU is urging anyone who may have information about what transpired Thursday to contact the lead investigator at 1-800-787-8529. Video evidence can be uploaded through the SIU website, siu.on.ca.