WINNIPEG — Surveillance footage from a Winnipeg home shows a car travelling at a high-speed and smashing into a police cruiser Thursday evening.
At 10:15 p.m., police saw a car driving erratically in the area of Powers Street and Magnus Avenue. Officers managed to pull the car over but as they walked towards the vehicle, the driver, in his 20’s, took off. That’s when police began to chase him.
“They watched the vehicle drive at a high rate of speed,” said Constable Jay Murray. “It was driving in an erratic manner, it was bouncing off curbs, not driving very straight at all.”
The high-speed chase quickly ended when the suspect sped through a stop sign at a high rate of speed and struck a police cruiser at the intersection of Pritchard Avenue and McKenzie Street.
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“You had a vehicle that went through a stop sign to try and get away from police,” said Murray.
“We’re all very fortunate that these officers weren’t hurt worse than they are.”
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Two officers had to be extricated from the cruiser by the jaws of life. They were rushed to hospital but has since been released. They are resting at home, police said.
A witness told Global News she say five people run from the scene.
The front of the car is smashed and the side of the police vehicle is damaged.
“The incident speaks to the dangers that our guys and girls face when working out there,” Cst. Jay Murray with Winnipeg police said at a media conference Friday.
“The outcome could have been very different. We’re lucky our cars keep us safe.”
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Police said several suspects are now in custody, including the driver.
There haven’t been any charges yet. The vehicle was not stolen.
