The Special Investigations Unit has found no grounds for criminal charges against a London, Ont., police officer who crashed into another vehicle while on the way to a call, leaving an 83-year-old woman with several broken ribs.
The crash occurred on Feb. 6 at the intersection of Horton Street and Wharncliffe Road South. The officer, the SIU says, was responding to an emergency call about a baby that was not breathing.
The SIU said the officer failed to come to a complete stop before entering the intersection, but the emergency lights and sirens were on and the officer had slowed down “to a virtual stop” before entering the intersection, where he collided with the driver’s side of a Chevy Cruz driven by an 83-year-old woman. She was driving about 60 km/h and entered the intersection on a green light, the SIU report reads.
The officer stopped his cruiser and went to check on the woman and at first police believed she was uninjured. However, she went to Victoria Hospital just in case and was diagnosed with several fractured ribs, the SIU said.
“Why neither party seems to have seen each other until it was too late is a matter of conjecture, although it appears likely that sightline obstructions caused by landmarks and traffic in and around the intersection played a role,” director Joseph Martino writes in his report.
“On this record, it would appear, at most, that the collision was the result of a momentary lapse of attention. This, the case law makes clear, will generally not give rise to liability.”
As a result, Martino concluded there is no basis for charges and the file is closed.
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