Two Durham police officers have been charged in connection to a fatal crash on Highway 401 that involved a wrong-way driver fleeing from police.
Durham police had been called to a robbery at an LCBO in Clarington just after 8 p.m. on April 29, 2024. When police arrived, the suspect fled in a cargo van, and a pursuit was initiated.
They say the suspect driver then proceeded onto Highway 401, driving in the opposite direction, which resulted in a multi-vehicle crash with fatalities that involved at least six cars.
Four people, including a baby, were killed.
The driver of the cargo van died at the scene, while three others — a grandmother, grandfather and their grandchild — died in the other vehicle.
Two other people, the parents of the child, were seriously injured but survived the crash as did the second occupant of the van.
The Special Investigations Unit was called in as a result and almost nine months later, the Director of the SIU determined there were grounds to charge two officers in connection with the pursuit.
Sgt. Richard Flynn and Cst. Brandon Hamilton are each facing three counts of criminal negligence causing death and two counts of criminal negligence causing bodily harm.
Both officers will appear in court on February 13.
Audio of the chase released months after the crash revealed at least one Ontario Provincial Police officer expressed concern that “someone is going to get hurt” after seeing the high-speed chase going in the wrong direction on the highway.
