The Special Investigations Unit has ended its investigation into a car chase and collision that resulted in charges for five 16-year-olds and sent one person to hospital with serious injuries. On May 22, an Ontario Provincial Police officer was parked on the shoulder of Highway 401, near Regional Road 35 in Cambridge, when his Automated Licence Plate Recognition system flagged a Mercedes-Benz that was believed to be stolen. OPP said the officer followed the vehicle to the Cambridge OnRoute and tried to get the driver to pull over. Instead, the vehicle sped off. The officer even deployed a spike belt at the OnRoute exit to get the driver to stop, which was also unsuccessful. “The suspected stolen vehicle swerved to avoid the spike belt, crossed the grassy median and entered the westbound lanes of Highway 401, where it collided with another vehicle,” the SIU said in an email to CTV News on May 24. The force of the collision caused the Nissan Rogue to roll over. One person in that vehicle, a 37-year-old woman, was taken to hospital. The SIU looks into all police incidents involving death, serious injury or allegation of sexual assault. They called off the investigation, they said, after reviewing videos that captured part of the interaction on May 22, as well as the victim’s medical records. “CT and MRI imaging of the woman from the Rogue identified several subtle cervical and upper thoracic ligament sprains, as well as a small disc protrusion,” the SIU’s decision said. “No acute traumatic injuries or fractures were identified. There being no indication of any ‘serious injury’ within the mandate of the SIU, the unit was without jurisdiction to investigate the incident.” The five teens in the Mercedes-Benz were all charged with possession of property obtained by crime. The 16-year-olds were from Hamilton, Dundas and Mississauga. One of them was also charged with operation causing bodily harm, failure to stop after an accident, flight from a peace officer, disobeying a sign, failure to signal stop and three counts of a G1 licence holder unaccompanied by a qualified driver.
