News Release

SIU Concludes Vaughan Vehicle Injuries Investigation

Case Number: 13-OVI-018   

Other News Releases Related to Case 13-OVI-018

SIU Investigates Motor Vehicle Injuries in Vaughan

Mississauga (3 April, 2013) --- The Director of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), Ian Scott, has concluded that there are no reasonable grounds to charge a York Regional Police officer with any criminal offence in relation to the injuries sustained by a 19-year-old woman in January of 2013.

The SIU assigned three investigators, two forensic investigators and a collision reconstructionist to probe the circumstances of this incident. As part of the investigation, two witness officers and three civilian witnesses were interviewed. The subject officer consented to an interview with the SIU, but did not provide a copy of his duty notes as is his legal right. 

The SIU investigation found that the following events took place on Wednesday, January 23:
• In the morning hours, a woman was driving her silver Equinox SUV northbound on Bathurst Street. At this location, the posted speed limit is 60 km/h.
• The subject officer was driving southbound in an unmarked cruiser equipped with a radar system. He clocked the oncoming SUV at 89 km/h and stopped his cruiser in the centre median lane of Bathurst Street near Ner Israel Drive. When the SUV was within a car-length of his cruiser, he activated his emergency lighting. The subject officer was about to initiate a U-turn when he heard the sounds of tires braking on the pavement. The SUV veered slightly to the left, turned sharply to the right going up and over the curb, struck a concrete light standard and went down an embankment. The vehicle came to rest at the bottom of the ravine near a creek.
• The subject officer completed his U-turn and stopped his vehicle in close proximity to the location where the SUV slid down the ravine. He found the woman lying unconscious on the ground outside of her vehicle. He radioed for an ambulance. EMS transported her to Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital where she was transferred to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. 
• She was diagnosed as sustaining a fractured pelvis, left arm and left cheekbone. 

Director Scott said, “On the basis of this investigation, the subject officer did not enter into a suspect apprehension pursuit in relation to the vehicle driven by the woman, nor is there any suggestion of physical contact between the two vehicles. In my view, the only reasonable conclusion is that the woman was speeding and lost control of her vehicle when she saw the emergency lights activated in the oncoming unmarked police cruiser. Accordingly, the subject officer cannot be held liable for the complainant’s misfortune in these circumstances.”               

The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of officials (police officers as well as special constables with the Niagara Parks Commission and peace officers with the Legislative Protective Service) that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault and/or the discharge of a firearm at a person. All investigations are conducted by SIU investigators who are civilians. Under the Special Investigations Unit Act, the Director of the SIU must

  • consider whether the official has committed a criminal offence in connection with the incident under investigation
  • depending on the evidence, cause a criminal charge to be laid against the official where grounds exist for doing so, or close the file without any charges being laid
  • publicly report the results of its investigations