Four people, including two grandparents and their infant grandchild, have been killed after a multi-vehicle crash on Highway 401 in Whitby, Ontario, after a call about a robbery at a Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) store in Clarington.
“It was an off-duty officer who was at the LCBO who became aware of the robbery and relayed that to Durham Regional Police Service who then dispatched investigators to the scene,” said SIU spokesperson Monica Hudon.
“Officers made their way to the scene and located a vehicle of interest, a cargo van,” Ms. Hudon told reporters in a news conference carried live by CP24. “Officers followed the cargo van through numerous streets in Durham Region, as the vehicle drove erratically. At Stevenson Road [in Oshawa], the cargo van entered Highway 401 travelling in the wrong direction,” she said.
Shortly after, there was a crash on the 401 involving at least six vehicles.
Ms. Hudon said the infant and the child’s grandparents, ages 55 and 60, were in the same vehicle and were declared dead at the scene.
One person in the cargo van was also killed and a fifth person was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford reacted with sadness to the news.
“This is a tragedy, just such a sad situation for the family,” said Mr. Ford. “It’s heart-wrenching when you see everyone from a grandfather to a little baby, the loss of lives because someone decides to rob a liquor store and go on the other side of the highway,” he told reporters at a news conference in Caledon.
Ms. Hudon said it was approximately 20 minutes from the time of the initial robbery call until the crash occurred.
Video has emerged on social media of the pursuit as it headed along the highway in the wrong direction, and people are already debating whether the pursuit should have been called off.
Ms. Hudon said all of that will be looked at during the investigation.
“Every situation is different and as part of the SIU’s investigation, we are going to look into the pursuit. When it started, where it started, what transpired, what made up the pursuit, and take a look at policies and things like that,” she said.
Durham Regional Police Service posted a statement on its website.
Five investigators, as well as a forensic investigator and a collision deconstructionist, have been assigned by the SIU to the case.
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit was originally formed in 1990 as an independent arms-length agency of the government to investigate serious incidents involving police. The SIU can determine if there are grounds to lay charges.
The 401 was closed in both directions for several hours after the crash.
