Attempted police stop leads to deadly Saskatoon crash

Traffic is back to normal this morning on 22nd Street West after a horrific crash last night that left two people dead.

The two people died when their Malibu sedan was broadsided by what police said was a stolen half-ton truck. Police said the truck was trying to elude officers as they attempted to pull it over. 

It all happened around 8 p.m. CST.

A patrol officer spotted the stolen truck and followed it. When the officer activated his emergency equipment at Avenue M and 20th Street, the half-ton sped away. It ran a stop sign at 22nd Street, hitting the Malibu and a mini-van.

​The force was such that it knocked the sedan onto its side and into Harder's Family Wellness Centre at the corner of 22nd Street and Ave M.

People in the car were trapped inside, following the crash.

David Nahachewsky, a battalion chief for the Saskatoon fire department, said the nature of the damage suggests the truck was going very fast.

"I would suspect there was a lot of speed involved just simply because of the damage," Nahachewsky said. "There's a lot of damage to the building and to the vehicle so there may have been excess speed."

Traffic in the area was rerouted through most of the night as police continued their investigation.