Update on Fatal Motor Vehicle Collision on the 21st of February 2022

Although recent media reports have been pointing to this Motor Vehicle Collision possibly being related to a police pursuit involving an officer from CN police our investigation to this point has shown this not to be the case. The Port Hope Police Service has not suggested at any point that any officer initiated a pursuit involving the involved vehicle.

To clarify what we know for sure is that a CN Police officer operating a fully marked CN Police cruiser was eastbound on Peter Street near the intersection of Roseglen Road when he observed a black car travelling toward him (westbound) at extreme speed and swerving into the eastbound lane. The officer took evasive action to avoid a collision and pulled to the far right of the roadway. He conducted a U-Turn and noted that he could no longer see the westbound vehicle as it had already crested the hill west of Roseglen Road but activated his emergency lights to attempt to conduct a traffic stop in the interest of public safety. CN Police officers have the authority to enforce the Criminal Code as well as Highway Traffic Offences which occur within 500 metres of railway lands. Once he crested the hill westbound and drove past Tim Horton’s the vehicle in question was out of view and his emergency equipment was deactivated. In the opinion of the lead investigator assigned to this investigation, at no point did this event become a Suspect Apprehension Pursuit as defined under the Highway Traffic Act regulations. There is sufficient evidence to suspect that the driver of the black vehicle in question didn’t even become aware that the CN officer had turned to pull him over due to the extreme speeds observed in video evidence. The CN Police officer did not arrive at the scene of the collision until more than 2 minutes after it had occurred as he had stopped his vehicle to speak with a witness.

The information contained in this media release is fully supported by video footage obtained by the Port Hope Police at many different locations along Peter Street, statements obtained from witnesses and electronic data and information obtained from the CN Police Cruiser itself.

Any questions with respect to CN Police operations should be addressed to CN Police directly.

The full investigation into this tragic event is still underway and is not expected to be completed until the final OPP Technical Collision Investigation is complete and all other evidence has been obtained and reviewed by the investigative team.

Anyone with information are asked to contact Port Hope Police at 905-885-8123 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS