The Durham Regional Police have released new details about the April wrong-way police pursuit of a robbery suspect on Highway 401 in Ontario that culminated in a fatal multi-vehicle crash that left a baby and his grandparents dead.
A report to the Durham Regional Police Service Board provides the most detailed timeline of the April 29 events disclosed by police to date.
“The suspect vehicle struck a cruiser and entered eastbound Highway 401, traveling in the opposite direction of traffic,” said the report written by Durham Regional Police Insp. Doris Carriere.
“Officers re-engaged and pursued the suspect vehicle onto eastbound Highway 401, traveling westbound.”
At least six vehicles, including a semi-trailer, were involved in the fiery Whitby, Ont., crash that also killed the 21-year-old male driver and seriously injured his 38-year-old male passenger.
The high-speed pursuit came about after the suspect was alleged to have pulled a knife on an off-duty Durham Regional Police officer who intervened to prevent a robbery at the LCBO in Clarington, Ont., the report said. The officer, who called for help, told dispatch the suspect had fled in a U-Haul van travelling west on Regional Highway 2.
“The off-duty officer strategically followed the suspect vehicle and disengaged when officers in marked cruisers caught up to the suspect vehicle,” Insp. Carriere wrote.
Videos of the pursuit posted on social media at the time show the chase headed along the highway in the wrong direction, causing many to debate whether the pursuit should have been called off.
Durham Regional Police Service posted a statement on its website the day after the fatal crash.
Police officers and emergency dispatchers in Durham Region were instructed in May to complete a mandatory training course on suspect pursuits.
