What we know — and don't know — about Monday night's deadly Durham police pursuit that left 4 people dead

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Two grandparents and their infant grandchild were killed on Monday evening after a van being pursued at high speeds by Durham police along Highway 401 in Whitby triggered a six-vehicle collision, snarling traffic for more than 12 hours.By Colin Williamson photo
Two grandparents and their infant grandchild were killed on Monday evening after a van being pursued at high speeds by Durham police along Highway 401 in Whitby triggered a six-vehicle collision, snarling traffic for more than 12 hours.

The Special Investigations Unit, which reviews the conduct of Ontario’s police officers, says the chase began in Clarington, after an off-duty officer was at an LCBO store and witnessed a robbery. That cop then notified Durham police, who located a suspect vehicle — a cargo van — and followed it through numerous Durham side streets before it merged onto Highway 401 at Stevenson Road and drove head-on into eastbound traffic.

Video posted online of the chase shows a white cargo van travelling west at high speeds in the eastbound lanes with at least one marked Durham police SUV in pursuit. Other police cruisers can be seen ahead of the suspect vehicle, travelling east in the eastbound lane. Also shown in the video is at least one unmarked police vehicle heading west in the westbound lanes.

A short distance later, the suspect’s vehicle hit a civilian’s vehicle, causing a collision that would leave a 55- and 60-year-old dead, as well as their grandchild. According to the SIU, an occupant in the cargo van was also killed.

The deadly pursuit began just before 8 p.m. following the alleged robbery and durhamregion.com began to chronicle the events shortly before 10 p.m. after Durham police posted online that a “pursuit” by officers led to a “multi-vehicle collision with fatalities.”

Our coverage continued early Tuesday morning with updates on Highway 401 road closures — the westbound lanes reopened around 7 a.m., while the eastbound lanes were blocked until almost 10 a.m. — before the SIU confirmed just before 9 a.m. that four people had died as a result of the police pursuit.

Later in the morning, SIU spokesperson Monica Hudon held an impromptu news conference in Whitby on a Highway 401 overpass to provide some details about the incident.

With the Durham force unable to say much about police actions and the collision due to the SIU invoking its mandate, and the police oversight agency only able to share preliminary information, here’s what the story is so far:

What we know

The police chase started after an alleged robbery at an LCBO in Bowmanville.

A cargo van was driven more than 15 kilometres, followed by police, from Green Road and Highway 2 before entering Highway 401 at Stevenson Road.

Six vehicles were involved in the Highway 401 crash, including at least one transport truck.

Four dead, including grandparents and an infant travelling together.

The alleged driver of the cargo van was also killed in the collision.What we don’t know

How many police vehicles were involved in the chase?

How many witnesses will police and SIU interview?

How long will the SIU investigation take?

What happened during the alleged liquor store robbery? Was anyone injured? Was anything stolen?

Was Air1, the police helicopter, available to assist in the chase?

Why did officers decide to chase the alleged thief at high speeds through heavy traffic on Highway 401?

Were other options to stop the suspect vehicle — boxing in the van or using spike belts to deflate tires — considered or tried?

What is the Durham force’s policy on high-speed pursuits?

Who were the victims?

Who was the alleged thief and cargo van driver?
来源链接：
https://www.toronto.com/news/crime/what-we-know-and-dont-know-about-monday-nights-deadly-durham-police-pursuit-that-left/article_e12e0001-35e3-5a88-9ce3-4f779e3eafbe.html