An Ontario Provincial Police officer has been cleared of any wrongdoing following a collision last fall that resulted in two people being seriously injured.
Special Investigations Unit (SIU) director Joseph Martino says he has found no reasonable grounds to believe the officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the crash last September.
Shortly before 9:30 a.m., on Sept. 21, 2021, the SIU says the officer was travelling north on 15th Sideroad and entered the intersection at 7th Line in New Tecumseth in a marked cruiser. A 47-year-old man, driving westbound in a Chevrolet Equinox, struck the cruiser after entering the intersection without stopping or slowing down for a stop sign.
Both the driver and an 18-year-old male passenger were injured as a result of the collision. They were taken to Stevenson Memorial Hospital in Alliston where the driver was diagnosed with fractures to his sternum, back and ribs. It was determined the passenger had fractured his back.
Given the involvement of a police vehicle, the SIU was called into investigate the crash, which Martino has concluded was caused by the driver of the Equinox, who noted in his report that it was “apparent that the civilian driver caused the collision by not obeying the stop sign." Speed was not deemed to be a factor.
“Accordingly, there was no basis for proceeding with criminal charges against the officer and the file has been closed,” he stated in the report. “On my assessment of the evidence, there are no reasonable grounds to believe that the SO (subject officer) committed a criminal offence in connection with the collision… and there is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges against the officer, and the file is closed.”
