Police watchdog ends Woodstock crash probe

Ontario’s police watchdog ended its investigation into a crash in January that injured a man in Woodstock.

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A man was asleep behind the wheel of a running pickup truck stopped on Bexley Street in Woodstock on Jan. 13, the Special Investigations Unit said.

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A police officer approached the vehicle and woke up the man, who drove away and later lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a ditch, the SIU said, adding the man was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with fractured ribs.

SIU director Joseph Martino determined the investigation should be discontinued following a preliminary investigation.

“The officer had not engaged the man in a pursuit and was nowhere near him when he crashed,” Martino wrote in a statement released Friday. “On this record, it was patently obvious that there was nothing to investigate regarding the officer’s potential criminal liability in connection with the collision.”

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The SIU investigates all cases of deaths, serious injury, police gunfire and allegations of sexual assault involving police.

Vehicle clocked at 176 km/h along highway

A driver from the US had their vehicle impounded and license suspended after Ontario Provincial Police say they clocked a vehicle going 176 kilometers/hour along Hwy. 401 near London, which has a posted speed limit of 100 km/h.

Middlesex County OPP say the driver from Michigan “found out the hard way” that police keep close watch on area highways on roads, according to a post on social media.

As a result of the traffic stop, the driver’s vehicle was impounded for two weeks, and their license suspended for 30 days, according to police. The accused is scheduled to appear in court at a later date, OPP said.

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