Ontario’s police watchdog has invoked its mandate after a vehicle reportedly fled from OPP east of Peterborough and crashed on Monday morning, knocking out hydro to thousands of residents.
Peterborough County OPP on Wednesday said around 11:30 a.m. an officer was patrolling County Road 48 in Havelock-Belmont-Methuen Township when the police cruiser’s automated licence plate recognition system issued an alert for a vehicle that passed in the opposite direction.
The officer tried to conduct a traffic stop, but the vehicle failed to stop, police allege.
OPP say a short time later the vehicle crashed into a hydro pole at a hydro station on Belmont 6th Line.
The driver, and lone occupant, was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, OPP said.
Hydro One reported that more than 5,000 customers — stretching from Havelock to Sharbot Lake — lost power for several hours as a result of the crash.
James Martin, 21, of Havelock, was arrested and charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, flight from police, driving while under suspension, operating a vehicle without insurance, using a licence plate not authorized from the vehicle and failure to comply with a probation order.
He was released and is scheduled to appear in court in Peterborough on Aug. 20.
OPP notified Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit about the incident, prompting it to invoke its mandate.
The SIU has yet to comment. The police watchdog investigates incidents involving police and civilians that result in either serious injury, death, the discharge of an officer’s firearm or allegations of sexual assault.
— more to come
