Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
CTV
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
Officers with Durham police responded to a robbery at an LCBO location near Green Road and Highway 2 at around 7:50 p.m. after they were alerted to the incident by an off-duty officer.
According to a police source who spoke to CP24, an off-duty Durham police officer noticed the robbery in progress and confronted a male suspect, who then brandished a knife. At that point, the source said, the off-duty officer backed off and alerted police.
Durham police said the suspect fled when officers arrived, and they pursued the suspect vehicle.
Speaking with reporters Tuesday, Special Investigations Unit (SIU) spokesperson Monica Hudon said officers followed the cargo van through numerous streets in Durham Region as the vehicle drove erratically.
The vehicle eventually entered the eastbound lanes of Highway 401 at Stevenson Road, but travelling westbound.
"Shortly after there was a multi-vehicle collision involving at least six vehicles," Hudon said. "An occupant of the cargo van was pronounced deceased at the scene. Three individuals from a civilian vehicle were also pronounced deceased at the scene. And in that vehicle were a 60-year-old, a 55-year-old and an infant."
