The Ontario Special Investigation Unit (SIU) released more information about Monday's Hwy 401 fatal accident, which left four people dead, including a three-month-old baby boy, when police were driving in the opposite direction while chasing suspects on Highway 401 in East Toronto.
Today (May 3), a lot of details broke out about this case. Among the dead were the grandparents of an Asian immigrant family who were killed while visiting family in Canada to visit their children and grandchildren.
What's even more frightening is that at the time of the incident, a Chinese was driving on Hwy 401. At that time, the vehicle that caused the accident and the police car were driving head-on, and he died in 1 second. Super Life interviewed the Chinese kbebe.
A little after 7 p.m. on April 29, she drove as usual on Highway 401.
At that time, she was in the rightmost lane, and on the left was two large trucks in front and behind.
First, she heard the horn of a police car, and then in an instant, she was directly in front of her and rushed towards a car driving in the opposite direction at high speed.
She said that it may have been an instinctive reaction at the time, and she suddenly hit the steering wheel and hid in the yellow line on the right side. At this time, the wrong-way car passed by. It was really only a few centimeters away from hitting it.
A few seconds later, a police car also chased in the opposite direction at high speed. I also drove past the car. At that time, she was scared into a cold sweat, and she sighed, she was really almost finished, and it can be said that she passed by death.
After waiting home, I heard what had happened and sighed that my life was great.
She has since provided video to the case.
Immigrant grandparents lost their lives while visiting relatives
The SIU is the agency responsible for investigating police-related deaths in Ontario. A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman, namely two grandparents, were killed in the crash, the agency said in a press release. The two grandparents came to Canada from India to visit relatives, SIU said.
The parents of the three-month-old boy, a 33-year-old father and a 27-year-old mother, were also injured in the accident and are residents of Ajax, Ontario, according to the SIU. According to the press release, the parents were in the same car with the grandparents and the baby.
The crash was the result of a police chase that began with an alleged LCBO liquor store robbery in Bowmanville, Ontario, in Clarington, Ontario.
The robber drove away in a car, mistakenly reversed the exit into Highway 401, and drove in the opposite direction, while the police pursued the suspect.
The robbers were killed
According to the SIU, the chase eventually resulted in the fatal impact of at least six vehicles. The robbery suspect was also killed.
On Thursday, the SIU said the suspect was a 21-year-old man. Another man, 38, is still being treated at hospital with serious injuries, the SIU said.
The SIU said two police officers are under investigation and four others have been designated as witnesses. According to former SIU director Howard Morton, interviews will be conducted with witness officers and their notes will be reviewed.
The SIU has sent seven investigators, a forensic investigator and a crash review expert to the case.
Investigation with multiple counts: Morton said the former SIU director said the SIU will review a range of traffic violations that may be brought as a result of the investigation.
"But I think they're also going to investigate the criminal negligence offense that led to the death, which is one of the more serious offenses in our criminal law," he said in an interview with CBC News on Wednesday.
Morton said investigators will also speak with people who work on radio dispatch and are responsible for the hunt.
He said the investigation would not end anytime soon.
Witnesses were terrified: "What happened?"
Milica Maljkovic Birkett, an eyewitness at the scene of the crash and a survivor, was stunned on Monday night when she had just reacted.
As she was driving on Highway 401, she suddenly came face-to-face with a van that was heading towards her vehicle.
"I was stunned, and I thought, 'Oh my gosh, what's going on?' Mr. Burkitt said in an interview on Thursday.
A dashcam video she recorded showed the van cutting through the reverse traffic and almost hitting other vehicles, with the police car following closely behind. She said the brake lights of the vehicle in front of her were her only visual warning, telling her that a van was coming towards her at a high speed.
She said she didn't see police cars flashing police lights on the highway on her side until the van overtook her.
Burkitt said the horrific experience took a while to digest.
"It's horrible," she said. "For whatever reason, my life was spared. But the other four people passed away, and that's really heavy.
She said after the manhunt, she wondered why so many police cars were involved.
"I'm super angry, really super angry," she said. "I'm not against the police, never has been, but I really question some of their tactics and ways of thinking. ”
On Thursday, Dulane District Police declined to comment on the incident, saying it was under investigation by the SIU.
In a written statement on Thursday, the mayor of Ajax called the accident an "unbelievable tragedy."
"I extend my deepest condolences to the Ajax families destroyed by the horrific crash on Highway 401 on Monday. He said.