A two-vehicle crash involving a Chatham-Kent police cruiser is under review, police say.
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The rear-end of a Toyota Prius was damaged in a collision with a cruiser near St. Clair and Poplar streets in Chatham, police said Wednesday.
“The individuals involved sustained minor physical injuries, and received the necessary medical attention,” police said by email.
“The incident is currently under review by the professional standards branch, which routinely examines matters of this nature,” police said.
“. . . This review does not imply any wrongdoing on the part of the officer involved,” police added. “This process is in place to promote consistency and transparency within the system.”
A reporter at the scene saw the damaged Prius in a nearby parking lot and the police cruiser in another.
A resident, who didn’t want to be named, said they saw the crash from a bedroom window overlooking St. Clair Street.
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A gray car went by with a cruiser behind it, they said. “All of sudden, the police car just smashed into the back of the gray car.”
“I didn’t see any brake lights or anything,” the resident added. “All I noticed was that the police officer’s head was down.”
After the crash, a female officer got out of the cruiser, whose airbags had deployed, the resident said. Another bystander’s photo showed the cruiser’s airbag deployed.
“The police car was smoking badly and she (the officer) immediately got on the phone,” the resident said.
Moments later, the woman driving the Prius got out of the car.
It took a minute for the officer to approach the Prius driver, the resident said, adding both appeared to be in shock.
Police officers and first responders arrived soon after, the resident said.
Another bystander said the impact of the crash pushed the Prius several meters up the road.
A man, who didn’t witness the crash, said he heard the impact from several meters away while walking along St. Clair Street.
There are “a lot of close calls” in traffic on St. Clair Street, said the resident who saw the crash. “This probably the worst one we saw – it hit hard.”
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