Winnipeg police officer charged with driving offences linked to highway crash
Const. Ian Case charged with careless driving, making illegal U-turn, Independent Investigation Unit says
A Winnipeg Police Service officer has been charged with driving offences following an investigation into a January crash by the province's police watchdog.
The charges follow an investigation into a collision on the divided four-lane portion of the Trans-Canada Highway in the rural municipality of Reynolds involving Winnipeg police officers and a civilian vehicle, a news release from the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba said Wednesday.
A 22-year-old man from Alberta and two on-duty Winnipeg police officers were injured in a crash east of the city around 5:35 p.m. on Jan. 31, RCMP said in a news release dated Feb. 7. RCMP confirmed Wednesday this is the incident is linked to the driving offence charges.
The accident happened on Highway 1, near Prawda, in the rural municipality of Reynolds, the February release said.
A vehicle was travelling westbound on Highway 1 when a second vehicle entered the highway from a parked position, resulting in a collision, RCMP said at the time.
The driver of the westbound vehicle was taken to local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The second vehicle had two on-duty Winnipeg Police Service officers who were taken to a Winnipeg hospital, where they were treated for injuries and released, RCMP said in February.
At the time, the accident was reported to the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba, which decided to take a monitoring role in the RCMP investigation. On Feb. 16, however, the IIU said it took charge of the investigation after receiving additional information.
Const. Ian Case has been issued a Provincial Offences Act ticket for careless driving and making an unauthorized U-turn under the Highway Traffic Act, the IIU said Wednesday.
IIU said in its Wednesday release it won't comment further as the matter is now before the courts.