A Special Investigations Unit inquiry has cleared police of any wrongdoing in a collision in Wasaga Beach that left a 23-year-old man with serious injuries.
In a news release issued today (Oct. 21), SIU director Joseph Martino said there was no reasonable ground to believe an Ontario Provincial Police officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the collision on June 25, 2022.
According to the investigation report, a man collided into the back of a stopped vehicle on Main Street in Wasaga Beach, then left the scene of the crash in a vehicle, speeding southbound on Mosley Street. An officer spotted the driver and pursued him. He fled from police and bypassed a roadblock. The man drove into oncoming traffic, ran a red light, and crashed into an eastbound vehicle. The man fled on foot and was arrested in the area of 42nd Street South and Meadowlark Boulevard. Paramedics transported the man to hospital where he was treated for a fractured femur and hip as a result of the crash.
Martino's report said there was no reasonable conclusion that the officer's driving departed from "reasonable standard of care," and there was no basis for proceeding with criminal charges.
To read the full director’s report (with incident narrative, evidence, and analysis and director’s decision): click here: siu.on.ca/en/directors_report_details.php?drid=2160.
