Police were kept busy by an early-morning incident that left a pickup truck upside down and a south London, Ont. garage in shambles.
City police said they received reports of a crash on Jalna Boulevard near Meg Drive at around 3 a.m. Friday. A few hours later, an upside down pickup truck was spotted laying on top of two other vehicles and wedged inside the garage of a Jalna Boulevard home.
New information released Friday afternoon reveals the crash was only the tip of the iceberg.
Const. Brittany Campbell told Global News the overnight ordeal began with a parking lot collision near Southdale Road East and Dundalk Drive, reported just before 3 a.m.
Campbell said a suspect vehicle fled the area and was later found near Southdale Road East and Adelaide Street South.
“While officers were attempting to stop the motor vehicle, the vehicle reversed into the police vehicle on two separate occasions,” Campbell said, adding that two officers inside the damaged police cruiser suffered minor injuries.
Later that morning, just after 3 a.m., police received reports of a crash on Jalna Boulevard near Meg Drive. Campbell said officers found the same vehicle from the previous collisions at the scene of the Jalna Boulevard crash.
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“Multiple witnesses advised the responding officers that the occupants had fled from the vehicles just prior to their arrival,” Campbell said.
“Three males were located nearby and arrested… the driver of the vehicle suffered minor injuries.”
An investigation revealed the suspect vehicle was reportedly stolen, Campbell said. Damage for the aforementioned collisions is pegged at $92,000. That number includes about $45,000 in damages that have been estimated for the home on Jalna Boulevard.
London police’s street crime unit have taken over the ongoing investigation and Campbell said charges are pending.
‘It’s not the first time it happened’
Ikhlas Deep, a London woman who lives across the street from where the crash occurred, said she wasn’t sure what had happened when she heard a commotion early Friday morning.
“But then I got up at 5 a.m. and I went outside and saw the police… I was very upset for the neighbour, so I thought maybe something happened to the neighbour, so thank God nothing happened to them,” Deep said.
The stretch of Jalna Boulevard between Sholto Drive and Meg Drive can be dangerous at times, according to Deep.
“It’s not the first time it happened — it’s happened before,” Deep said, referring to speeding and other crashes in the area.
Deep added that she refuses to sleep in the family room on the ground level of her home for fears that a vehicle may crash inside.
“It’s been happening for a long time… we’d like them to do something about it please.”
Her concerns over speeding in the area were echoed by another neighbour, Jordan Kiss.
“It’s fairly common. There’s stop signs on either side of us and people try to use it as a shortcut to the mall,” Kiss said.
“You definitely can hear them kind of speeding up when they’re going around the corners.”
Kiss also noted issues with the infrastructure of the roadway, adding that a curve on Jalnva Boulevard west of Sholto Drive can lead to visibility issues at times.
“You can look and make sure it’s all clear and by the time you’re backing out of your driveway someone’s pulled away from the stop sign and is right behind you,” Kiss said.
Concerns over dangerous driving on Jalna Boulevard have been raised in the past, notably by former Ward 12 councillor candidate Rowa Mohamed.
The boulevard stretches from Southdale Road East down to Exeter Road and is packed between White Oak Road and Wellington Road.
Parts of Jalna Boulevard have had traffic calming measures installed, such as speed cushions and islands, but they do not cover the entire roadway.
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