Toronto: An Indian couple and their three-month-old grandchild were among four persons killed in a violent multi-vehicle collision in Canada's Ontario province after police were reportedly chasing a liquor store robbery suspect who was driving the wrong way. The deadly crash occurred on Highway 401 in Whitby, about 50 kilometres east of Toronto, police said.
Ontario's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) said two grandparents, a 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman, along with their three-month-old grandson, were killed in the collision on Monday, CBC News reported. Both grandparents were visiting Canada from India, the agency said in an official statement. The infant's parents, a 33-year-old man and a 27-year-old woman were injured in the crash, the SIU added.
The collision was the result of a police chase that began with an alleged liquor store robbery in Bowmanville, Ontario, in the regional municipality of Clarington. Police pursued the suspect as he drove the wrong way on Highway 401 in Whitby, about 50 kilometres east of Toronto. The chase ended in a fatal collision that involved at least six vehicles, where the robbery suspect was also killed.
Multiple offences to be considered
SIU did not release the names of the victims as the autopsies for the victims all happened in Toronto on Wednesday. A 38-year-old male passenger from the cargo van was also taken to the hospital to be treated for serious injuries. The SIU, which probes deaths involving the police, assigned seven investigators, one forensic investigator and one collision reconstructionist to the case.
Former SIU director Howard Morton said the SIU will be looking at a number of driving offences that could be laid as a result of the investigation. "I think they'll also be looking at offences of criminal negligence causing death, which is one of the more relatively serious offences set out in our Criminal Code," he told CBC News on Wednesday.
In a dashcam video she recorded, the van can be seen weaving through oncoming traffic and nearly missing vehicles, as police cruisers follow behind. Milica Maljkovic Birkett, who witnessed the crash, said the brake lights of cars in front of her were the only visual warning she had that a van was barrelling toward her at a high rate of speed.
A police radio recording, which captures conversations between officers and a dispatcher on an Ontario Provincial Police Highway Safety Division communication channel, included a caution from an officer that someone was going to get hurt during the chase. The audio, which comes from the website Broadcastify, is a window into the initial information investigators were working with as Durham police officers pursued the suspect.
Consulate General of India, Toronto reacts
"Heartfelt condolences on tragic loss of Indian nationals Mr. Manivannan, Mrs. Mahalakshmi & their grandchild in the Highway 401 collision. CG met the bereaved family at the hospital & assured all possible assistance. We are in touch with Canadian authorities," Consulate General of India, Toronto posted on X.
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