Officer not responsible for collision, SIU decides

The province’s police watchdog has determined that a Toronto police officer was not responsible after a fleeing SUV struck a Honda Civic, sending the car’s driver to hospital with serious injuries in August 2019.

In a news release on Wednesday, the Special Investigations Unit laid out the chain of events.

On Aug. 26, 2019, an officer conducted a traffic stop on Gerrard Street East. When the officer got out of his car and sidled up to the SUV, the driver sped away, according to the SIU.

“I’ve just had a vehicle take off from me,” the officer said, after which sounds of “squealing tires” could be heard, according to police communications recordings.

The officer dashed back to his cruiser and pursued the fleeing SUV, by now speeding ahead at about 70 km/h, and nearly 100 metres ahead of the cruiser. The SUV turned onto Woodfield Road and collided with two vehicles, one of them a Honda Civic. The SUV driver fled on foot and a female passenger was apprehended.

The driver of the Civic, a 35year-old man, was taken to St. Michael’s Hospital where he was treated for a fractured left fibula as a result of the collision.

During the chase, the cruiser had its emergency lights on, but not the siren.

SIU director Joseph Martino determined “there are no reasonable grounds to believe that the officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the circumstances surrounding the man’s injuries.”