Infant, grandparents among 4 killed in Highway 401 crash

Two grandparents and their infant grandchild were among four people killed in a fiery crash east of Toronto on Monday after police pursued a liquor store robbery suspect driving the wrong way on Highway 401, Ontario's police watchdog says.

Monica Hudon, spokesperson for the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), said the robbery suspect was also killed in the collision that involved at least six vehicles.

All four people were pronounced dead at the scene on Highway 401 in Whitby, about 50 kilometres east of Toronto, Hudon said. Another person was taken to hospital with significant injuries, she added.

Hudon said in an email later Tuesday that the person injured was believed to be in the cargo van that was being investigated by police.

The pursuit began at an LCBO location in nearby Clarington, when an off-duty officer reported an attempted theft to Durham Regional Police at around 7:50 p.m. ET.

The suspect got into a cargo van and responding officers followed them as they drove "erratically" on various streets, Hudon said. She said investigators are still working to identify the suspect and she did not provide any further information, such as their age or gender.

The suspect drove onto Highway 401 at Stevenson Road, headed westbound in the eastbound lanes, Hudon said. 

A video circulating on X, formerly Twitter, shows what appears to be a rental van speeding through oncoming traffic with Durham police vehicles close behind. The video then cuts to the aftermath of a fiery crash at the side of the highway.

The collision occurred at around 8:10 p.m., Hudon said. She could not say whether anyone else was in the cargo van with the deceased robbery suspect. 

A 60-year-old, 55-year-old and infant killed in the crash were travelling in the same vehicle, according to Hudon. She did not have any additional information about those individuals late Tuesday morning. 

In another video captured from a different angle and posted to social media, a badly damaged transport truck can be seen wrecked against the concrete median at the collision scene.

Hudon said the SIU has assigned five investigators to the case, as well as one forensic specialist and one collision reconstructionist. Investigators are still trying to determine how many Durham police will be designated as subject and witness officers in the probe.

Whether it was necessary for Durham police to pursue the cargo van as it drove the wrong way on the province's busiest highway will be part of the investigation, Hudon said.

"The investigation is in its very early stages and I am not in a position to speculate on what was or what was not appropriate," she told reporters.