The mother injured with her children in a serious Brampton, Ont., crash that police suspect involved a stolen vehicle has spoken out, calling for safer roads and bail reform.
Samantha Ritchie was injured in the multi-vehicle crash along with her two children, eight-year-old Nixon and 12-year-old Rocque. The family dog, Finnegan, was killed.
Peel Regional Police previously said the crash, which injured three others as well, involved a stolen pickup truck. The driver of that pickup allegedly fled the scene.
A 40-year-old man was charged on Thursday. Announcing his charges, police said he had previously been convicted of dangerous operation, flight while pursued by a police officer, taking a motor vehicle without consent and possession of property obtained by crime.
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In a statement sent to Global News, Ritchie said she was “angry and frustrated” by the crash and the fact the man police arrested had a driving-related criminal history.
The crash took place on Aug. 3 around 7:30 p.m. and involved four vehicles. It was reported in the Airport Road and Clark Boulevard area, according to police.
Ritchie and her children were on the way home from a dog training class and stopped at a red light when the crash happened, a family member said.
She said the city’s roads have become less safe.
“Why are Brampton roads increasingly feeling more and more dangerous to live in?” Ritchie wrote.
“Why must I feel as though we need to move? This is not about just asking my children to be safe crossing (the road), these drivers are acting recklessly on small side streets on a steady and constant basis.”
She said the injuries she and her children had suffered were “catastrophic and life-altering.”
Ritchie asked for “prayers to heal” and for the public to put pressure on governments to consider bail reform.
— with files from Global News’ Ryan Rocca
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