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Wild videos of Toronto police car crash have people asking questions

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A Saturday morning crash in Toronto’s CityPlace neighbourhood sent a police officer to hospital, nearly killed a cyclist, and has sparked outrage and questions from the public.

Police reported the incident just before 9 a.m. on Saturday after a cop slammed their cruiser into a light pole, sending it crashing down onto the sidewalk below. Police advised the public of the single-vehicle collision at Fort York Blvd. and Dan Leckie Way, shutting down westbound Fort York for a reconstruction investigation.

It didn’t take long for accusations to emerge on social media, including unconfirmed reports that the driver was being questioned under suspicion of driving under the influence, or potentially suffered a medical episode that may have caused the crash.

A video captured at the scene of the crash and widely shared on social media over the weekend shows bystanders alleging that the officer showed signs of impairment after the collision — reports that blogTO has not yet independently verified.

A second video shows the crash itself, where the officer can be seen turning right into the westbound lanes of Fort York Blvd before striking a light pole, which crashes to the ground and misses a passing cyclist (who was using the sidewalk rather than an adjacent bike lane) by mere seconds.

blogTO has reached out to Toronto Police seeking additional details about the crash.

Personal injury lawyer and advocate for vulnerable road users, David Shellnutt, tells blogTO that, barring a medical emergency, “what we’ve witnessed here is both a miracle and wildly serious incident of potential road violence.”

“We are glad the officer wasn’t seriously injured. We hope they are getting the support they need. We are equally grateful several nearby pedestrians were not injured or killed after this officer rolled a stop, cut off a pedestrian, turned into a bike lane, jumped the sidewalk, then hit a massive pole.”

While Shellnutt stresses that he doesn’t wish to demonize the officer by sharing the video, he argues that the officer behind the wheel “could have injured or killed multiple people,” and “if reports from various sources are confirmed and the driver was intoxicated, appropriate charges should be laid.”

Shellnutt cites this as just the latest in a string of incidents involving vulnerable road users where advocates “have been consistently calling for police accountability, while politicians raise police budgets claiming we’ll be unsafe if we don’t.”

“But with a lack of transparency and accountability, dangerous incidents like this and the one we posted last week may continue unimpeded. Without proper accountability, we suspect these collisions would be swept under the rug with impunity if not for brave community members sharing bystander videos.”

Shellnutt tells blogTO that he hopes this incident “is met with open and swift discussion, condemnation, and accountability.”

“If this wasn’t a police officer, people would expect this incident would be subject to a full investigation and, if merited, charges laid; from failing to yield the right of way and dangerous driving, to potentially a DUI.”

“Members of the public were put at serious risk here, it’s important that the public and municipal leaders are kept appraised of the developments of this case and TPS publicly reinforce the importance of road safety.”

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