Ontario police watchdog investigating fatal crash north of Belleville, Ont.

The logo of the Ontario Special Investigations Unit is pictured in Toronto on Friday, April 12, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Arlyn McAdorey

Ontario’s police watchdog is investigating a fatal collision in Madoc, Ont., north of Belleville.

According to the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), an Ontario Provincial Police officer was driving eastbound on Highway 7 Sunday night when he saw a westbound vehicle allegedly speeding. The same vehicle had been previously reported to police as driving dangerously, the SIU said in a news release.

The OPP said officers first received reports of a vehicle being driven erratically on Highway 7 at around 8:30 p.m.

The SIU says the officer followed the westbound vehicle but then came across a collision scene.

“A short time later, in the area of Highway 7 and St. Lawrence Street West, the officer came across a collision between the vehicle of interest and a motorcycle,” the SIU said. “The 57-year-old motorcycle rider was pronounced deceased at the scene. The driver of the vehicle did not suffer any serious injuries.”

The OPP said the driver of the car was a 19-year-old man.

The SIU did not identify the victim.

The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of police that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault and/or the discharge of a firearm at a person.