Watchdog details violent rollover that badly hurt driver; OPP officer cleared

An OPP officer was cleared of wrongdoing after a driver who was briefly pursued for speeding crashed and rolled a luxury vehicle several times while exiting Hwy. 401 near Ingersoll.

On March 30 at about 5 pm, the off-duty officer was headed east on the 401 in Oxford County in an unmarked cruiser when he was passed by a driver in a Mercedes traveling at about 180 kilometres/hour, according to Ontario’s police watchdog, the Special Investigations Unit.

The Mercedes was weaving in and out of traffic and passing other vehicles on the shoulder of the highway, the SIU said.

The officer activated his lights and and briefly pursued the Mercedes before pulling over to alert the OPP’s communication centre, SIU said.

A short time later, the Mercedes crashed and rolled several times at an off-ramp near Ingersoll, the SIU said.

The 20-year-old driver was rushed to hospital with a broken back, fractures and a possible brain bleed. SIU director Joseph Martino cleared the officer of any wrongdoing.

“There is no evidence of want of care on the part of the (officer),” Martino wrote in his report, noting the officer was at one point driving 180 km/h to catch up to the Mercedes but “wisely” slowed down.

The officer was three kilometers away from the rollover when it happened and arrived at the crash site minutes later, Martino wrote.