Officers cleared in chase that ended in crash, left 2 with broken bones
Investigation unit releases report into spring 2016 crash at McPhillips Street, Redwood Avenue
Winnipeg officers did nothing wrong in a police chase that ended in a crash that sent six people to hospital, the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba has found.
Police tried to pull over a Toyota Corolla containing six occupants just before 3 a.m. on May 23, 2016, after officers ran the car's plates and found they didn't match the vehicle registration.
A chase ensued but the police cruiser involved, which reached speeds of 86 km/h, stopped the pursuit when the Toyota peeled off and hit speeds of about 94 km/h, the IIU said.
The westbound Toyota blew through a red light and crashed into a northbound Chrysler 200 at the corner of Redwood Avenue and McPhillips Street a short time later, according to police.
One person jumped out of the Toyota and ran away, police said at the time.
The two people in the Chrysler only suffered minor cuts and bruises. Meanwhile, four youth in the Toyota were sent to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. One of the people in the Toyota had a broken femur and another a fractured vertebra.
The IIU reviews all serious incidents involving police and took over the investigation.
Zane Tessler, civilian director of the IIU, found the police were right to chase the vehicle and end the pursuit when the Toyota sped off.
"The driver of the Toyota was intent on fleeing from police, was driving at extremely high speeds, disobeyed traffic control devices and was solely responsible for the collision with the Chrysler and subsequent injuries sustained by everyone," Tessler wrote in the final report.