News Release
SIU Concludes Investigation in Oshawa Collision
Case Number: 05-OVI-092
Other News Releases Related to Case 05-OVI-092
SIU Looking for Witnesses to Oshawa Collision
SIU Looking for Witnesses to Oshawa Collision
On June 20, 2005, at approximately 5:20 p.m., a DRPS cruiser collided with a white Kia Magentis car at the intersection of Ritson Road North and Rossland Road East in Oshawa. The elderly driver of the Kia Magentis sustained a fractured vertebrae in her neck.
The SIU investigation determined that a DRPS officer in a marked cruiser was responding to an emergency call of youths firing a paintball gun. The officer was traveling northbound on Ritson and activated the cruiser's emergency lights and siren as he approached the intersection of Ritson and Rossland Roads. The officer slowed momentarily before proceeding through the intersection on a red signal light. The Kia Magentis car, which was traveling westbound on Rossland at the same time, was struck broadside by the cruiser.
Director Cornish concluded that a truck stopped at the intersection waiting to make a left turn appeared to have obstructed the officer's view of traffic. He stated, "The officer had reason to treat this call as an emergency and one that needed to be attended to with haste. The driving in this case does not amount to a marked and substantial departure from the standard of care to be expected of a reasonable driver and I do not believe the officer committed a criminal offence in this case."
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