SIU clears Toronto officer after stolen SUV collides with car, seriously injures 4 people

An image of the scene on Nov. 25, 2024, shortly after the collision. (Special Investigations Unit)

Ontario’s police watchdog cleared a Toronto officer of any wrongdoing after pursuing a stolen SUV speeding in Scarborough that crashed into another vehicle and an empty bus shelter in November, seriously injuring four people including three teenagers.

The incident happened on the evening of Nov. 25, 2024, in the area of Eglinton Avenue East and Brimley Road where police were conducting mobile traffic enforcement.

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) noted that police clocked the driver of the Honda CRV going 96 kilometres per hour in a marked 50 zone. The officer in the driver’s seat of the police cruiser, called the subject official in the report, started to drive toward the silver SUV with their emergency lights activated in an attempt to pull the vehicle over for a speeding infraction.

As the officer started to follow the CRV, the SIU notes his vehicle’s Automatic Licence Plate Reader (ALPR) saw the Honda had been reported stolen. There were five people inside of the CRV at the time, which was continuing to speed away from police and crossed Danforth Road at a red light.

“Did he run that light?” the officer seated in the passenger seat asked, according to the audio captured inside of the police vehicle. Soon after, two bangs sounded.

“It looks, it ran two red lights, and it looked like it would have been north of Eglinton on Brimley, we cannot see if the vehicle is still on the road, and we don’t know what it hit,” an officer, called the witness official in the report, told a police dispatcher.

The SIU notes the Honda struck an Audi at the Eglinton Avenue East intersection, which was turning right onto Brimley Road.

The Honda continued northbound after the collision and came to a halt after crashing into a vacant bus shelter on the east side of Brimley Road.

“The Audi was sent spinning into the southbound lanes of Brimley Road, where it came to rest,” Wednesday’s report reads, noting the 49-year-old driver suffered torn shoulder ligaments and an injured appendix as a result. The SIU adds his appendix had to be removed.

Meanwhile, three occupants—a 15-year-old girl, a 16-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy—inside the Honda sustained injuries, including a concussion, a brain bleed, and a broken spine.

According to the SIU, the Toronto Police Service notified them about the incident the day after the collision, noting at least one person had been seriously injured and that it happened shortly after police tried to pull over one of the vehicles involved.

SIU Director Joseph Martino says, following their investigation, there are no “reasonable grounds” that the officer involved committed a criminal offence as he was operating within his rights to stop the Honda for a speeding ticket.

“He had measured its speed at almost twice the legal limit. Moreover, he had cause to initiate a pursuit of the Honda when shortly after entering onto the roadway to stop it, his ALPR detected that the vehicle was stolen,” Martino said, adding he was satisfied that the officer safely performed his duties.

Martino pointed to the use of the emergency lights and how the officer stopped his pursuit after the Honda ran a red light.

“That decision was a wise one. He had witnessed an extremely dangerous act and did not want to add any further impetus for reckless behaviour on the part of the Honda’s driver,” Martino wrote, and closed the case.