Timeline: How the deadly chase unfolded on Oct. 5, 2017
Oct. 5, 2017 Two teens were killed in a Cambridge police chase
Oct. 5, 2017, 9:33 a.m. A witness calls 911 to say a man is beating a woman and abducting her at a Preston pizza shop. He describes the couple as in their 20s. They are Nathan Wehrle, 15, and his girlfriend Taryn Hewitt, 16. “I’m just witnessing a man beating the living daylights out of a young lady,” the witness said. The call is from Tommy’s Pizza and Wings, 1203 King St. E. The witness wrongly reports the car as a small red Toyota. Within 10 minutes police confirm it is a Pontiac G5, two doors, red, reported stolen. An investigation released Friday found evidence from surveillance video and from another witness disputing the abduction claim. 9:34 a.m. to 9:37 a.m. The civilian witness driving a white Dodge Journey follows the red car, staying on the line with police. Unfamiliar with the area, he’s confused by the streets and also misreports the licence plate. The red car travels from Montrose to Concession Road to Eagle Street, heading eastbound. The witness eventually loses sight of the red car when it crosses Hespeler Road. 9:36 a.m. to 9:41 a.m. Police are confused about the red car and its whereabouts. An officer asks: “Did we get plates on the vehicle?” An officer says: “Maybe you can cut them off at Franklin and Pinebush?” 9:41 a.m. Police find the red car at Pinebush Road and Franklin Boulevard. “I’m just strategically following at this time, not pursuing,” an officer says. Police confirm two people in the car, male and female. They do not know who they are. “I estimate his speeds around 95, again non-pursuit, traffic’s very light,” an officer says. 9:42 a.m. An officer asks: “Do you want to try a rolling block?” 9:42 a.m. The red car turns onto Saginaw Parkway eastbound, heading toward Townline Road. Police let it go and lose track of it. “I’m going to let him go with all the school zones down there,” an officer says. An officer suggests alerting the OPP in case the car heads north on Townline to get onto Highway 401 eastbound. An officer suggests checking the carpool lot at Highway 401 and Townline. 9:45 a.m. Police are uncertain about what’s going on inside the red car. An officer asks: “I missed the first part of the call. The female was dragged back into the vehicle and assaulted there?” A dispatcher responds: “There’s not much information about that. All the call says is that he dragged her out of the car. And the caller initially said there’s a male beating a young lady.” 9:46 a.m. Police find the red car again in the area of Townline and Gore roads. “It is the vehicle. I’m right behind you,” one officer radios to another. 9:47 a.m. An officer decides to chase the car eastbound on rural Gore Road into the countryside. “For the safety of the possible victim in the back, in case she’s being held against her will, we are in pursuit,” he tells a dispatcher. 9:47 a.m. An officer says: “If there’s a good spot without any hills I’ll try and pass him.” 9:47 to 9:54 a.m. Police pursue the car along Gore Road, sirens blaring, passing one sideroad after another, reporting speeds of 110 km/h, 120 km/h, 130 km/h and 135 km/h. Officers report light traffic. 9:50 a.m. Taryn Hewitt texts her mother from inside the car: “I’m so sorry for everything, we stole a car and we’re in a high-speed chase.” 9:51 a.m. An OPP dispatcher broadcasts the pursuit and misidentifies the car. “A small red Toyota, which is a stolen vehicle ... involved in a disturbance, male party dragged a female into the vehicle and then took off when officers arrived.” 9:54 a.m. The red car turns southbound on Highway 6 after reaching the end of Gore Road. An officer says: “We got two lanes here sergeant. We can do the rolling block.” An officer says: “I’m going to push up now.” Driving aggressively, Nathan Wehrle tries to thread the needle between traffic going in opposite directions. 9:55 a.m. Nathan Wehrle loses control at up to 126 km/h on a curve, slides across the highway, and collides head-on into a transport truck hauling wheat. An investigation by the SIU concludes officers were behind the car at a distance not fully determined, and their actions did not cause the collision.