Police warn of uptick in staged collision carjackings throughout York Region

Police are warning the public of a re-emergence of staged collision carjackings throughout York Region, and what warning signs to look out for.

Police are warning the public of a “re-emergence” of staged collision carjackings throughout York Region.

York Regional Police say during these incidents, suspects will purposefully cause minor collisions so that when a victim gets out of the car to assess the damage, the suspects will confront them—often with firearms—and steal the vehicle.

Police add that suspects may also use distraction techniques so that their partner can steal the vehicle when the victim isn’t paying attention to what’s going on.

“It’s nothing new. We’ve seen this time and time again, but it is something we’ve now seen four times since the start of November and it’s just show that this is re-emerging,” YRP Const. James Dickson told CP24 in an interview Tuesday afternoon.

“It’s something that we’ve had quite a bit in 2023 and is by no means gone, but we do want to make sure we’re putting it out to the public to let them know exactly what’s going on and what they can do to keep themselves safe.”

The first of the four incidents happened on the evening of Nov. 7 in Markham.

When the victim got out of the car to check the damage, police say the suspects pulled out firearms before one of them got into the Lexus and drove off.

A few weeks later, at around the same time on Nov. 20, police said they responded to another carjacking in Markham—this time in the area of Kirkham and Karachi drives.

Officers said one of the suspects rode his bicycle into the side of the victim’s Cadillac Escalade. When the driver got out of the car to check on him, they said a dark sedan pulled up behind the Escalade.

Police said two suspects exited the sedan, one of them with a firearm, and allegedly stole the vehicle.

On Jan. 9, at around 8:20 p.m., police said they responded to an attempted carjacking in Vaughan, in the area of King Road and Highway 27. After the suspects allegedly “lightly” rear-ended a woman’s Cadillac Escalade, two suspects tried to confront the driver, one with a firearm, in an attempt to steal her vehicle.

However, police said their attempts were thwarted “due to a kill switch being installed” in the Escalade.

Then last Friday, York police said they responded to a carjacking in Richmond Hill, in the area of Leslie Street and Bethesda Sideroad.

Officers said the victim’s Mercedes Benz G-Wagon was rear-ended by a dark-coloured SUV. Like before, when the victim got out of the vehicle to assess the damage, the suspect allegedly got into the car and drove away.

While police have not been able to link any of the instances together, Dickson says the circumstances in which they all happened share something in common.

“There are areas where there’s not a ton of cars that are around, where there’s not enough witnesses that can be there, that there’s not a lot of CCTV,” Dickson said, adding it’s likely these vehicles were targeted because they are high-end, luxury brands.

Due to the apparent rise of these staged incidents, police are warning the public to be aware of their surroundings and trust their instincts.

“If you feel you are being followed, or if something doesn’t feel right, drive to a police station or contact police immediately,” the release, issued on Tuesday, reads.

Police are asking anyone with information to call them at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 6630, or Crime Stoppers anonymously.