Crash shuts down major Winnipeg intersection, sending 2 to hospital
Police watchdog investigating collision because police were tracking speeding car
Two people were sent to hospital and police shut down a major intersection in northeast Winnipeg on Tuesday after a crash involving a car that was speeding, police say.
Dozens of evidence tags marked locations around the intersection of Chief Peguis Trail and Henderson Highway. A heavily damaged car was on the boulevard.
In a news release issued late in the morning, police said a car raced past a cruiser parked near Henderson and Johnson Avenue around 11:30 p.m. Monday.
The officers turned on their lights and siren in an effort to stop the car, but it continued at a high rate of speed, police said. The cruiser followed from a distance, but the officers soon lost sight of the car, the news release said.
The police helicopter was called in and the crew spotted the car, which had rear-ended another vehicle and then collided with a light pole at the northwest corner of the Chief Peguis and Henderson Highway intersection, police said.
A passenger in the vehicle was seen running away but was caught by officers, police said. The driver was trapped and required extrication by city emergency crews.
Both the passenger and driver were sent to hospital due to injuries. The driver suffered a fractured leg and hypothermia due to the time needed to free him from the wreckage.
The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba was notified because the incident involved police and injured civilians.
The IIU has taken over the investigation.
Both the northbound and southbound lanes of Henderson remain closed at the intersection with Chief Peguis.
The westbound lanes of Chief Peguis are blocked from Gateway Road to Main Street, while eastbound traffic from Main can turn south on Henderson.
Anyone with information or video footage that could help the investigation is asked to contact the IIU toll-free at 1-844-667-6060.
