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Car crash witnesses restrain hit-and-run suspect at Cookstown outlet mall

A man of no fixed address is facing several charges, including impaired driving and assault

A 61-year-old man is facing a slew of charges after he fled a Highway 400 car crash Thursday and witnesses tackled him in the Tanger Outlets parking lot in Cookstown.

The man arrested, of no fixed address, was injured after the silver Nissan he was driving hit another vehicle near County Road 88 around 10 a.m., said OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt.

No one else was injured in the crash.

The man fled the scene in his car north to the outlet mall, where he parked in the lot.

At least three witnesses followed him in two or three other vehicles and tried barricading him in the parking lot after calling police, Schmidt said.

When the man got out of his car, “they tried to restrain him and take him into custody,” he said.

There was an altercation in the parking lot, but no one was injured, he added.

Another man who was a passenger in the Nissan fled on foot and has not been located, but the man who was arrested is the main suspect, Schmidt said.

The 61 year old is facing several charges, including impaired driving, dangerous driving, assault, and breaches of court-ordered conditions.

Members of the OPP and South Simcoe Police were involved in the incident.