Ontario’s police watchdog is closing its file on the circumstances surrounding a fatal collision outside a south London school that resulted in the death of an uninvolved driver earlier this year.
The collision occurred in the early morning hours of April 19 as a patrol officer located a stolen vehicle, since identified as a GMC Sierra, in the area of King Edward Avenue and Russell Avenue shortly after 2:20 a.m.
According to the report from the Special Investigations Unit, the patrol officer pursued the suspect pickup truck in the area of Chesterfield Avenue and Thompson Road. The report highlights that the pickup truck driver knew they were being followed and took off at a high speed.
Investigators said the vehicle later collided with an uninvolved Ford F-150 and the driver, a 62-year-old woman, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The area was closed to local traffic pending the initial stages of the investigation, including the temporary closure of in-person learning at Princess Elizabeth Public School.
Investigators told Global News at the time that three suspects in the Sierra, since identified as two men and one woman, reportedly fled on foot. The female suspect was later located and transported to hospital for treatment before being taken into custody.
According to the report from the SIU, the patrol officer following the suspect vehicle reached a top speed of 16.4 km/h and maintained an average speed of 8.7 km/h. The posted speed limit for Thompson Road was 40 km/h.
Additionally, the officer reportedly stopped around 618 metres away from the scene of the collision before it happened.
Given the assessment of the evidence, Joseph Martino, director of the SIU, said “there were no reasonable grounds to believe that the officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the collision and the woman’s death.”
“I am satisfied that the subject official (SO) comported herself with due care and regard for public safety throughout her brief engagement with the pick-up truck,” he wrote in his analysis. “She followed it at slow speed and decided, wisely, in my view, against pursuing the vehicle after it accelerated away from her on Thompson Road. Thereafter, the officer made her way safely to the site of the collision and reported what had occurred.”
Referencing some of the speeds at which the officer was travelling in the area, Martino added that “though there is some evidence that the SO may have travelled through one or more stop signs without stopping, there is nothing to suggest that anyone was placed at any risk by this conduct.”
“On this record, it is apparent that the SO did not transgress the limits of care prescribed by the criminal law.”
He also concluded that “there was no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case, and the file has been closed.”