MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – The Special Investigations Unit says a provincial police officer was driving in a careless manner when her cruiser slammed into a car that had slowed for a construction zone in eastern Ontario.
But the police watchdog agency says the evidence is insufficient to warrant the laying of criminal charges in the Oct. 6, 2016, incident on Highway 401 east of Kingston, Ont.
The SIU says the OPP cruiser was travelling at 75 km/h when it hit the car, which had slowed to 12km/h, pushing it forward into a vehicle ahead.
The driver of the car suffered a fractured vertebrae and several rib fractures.
SIU director Tony Loparco says the evidence indicated the OPP officer wasn’t distracted by her mobile station or her cellphone.
But Loparco says there isn’t any evidence from other drivers regarding the officer’s driving prior to the collision.
“Pre-crash data only shows that she was driving at a rate of speed in excess of that being observed by other traffic ahead of her and that she failed to adjust her speed to take into account the other users of the roadway,” he said.
He added that there are grounds to believe that the officer was driving in a careless manner without reasonable care and attention, but that evidence is “insufficient to rise to the level required pursuant to the Criminal Code.”
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