News Release
SIU Concludes Investigation into Cambridge Collision
Case Number: 06-OVI-203
On November 25, 2006, Edward Meadus was seriously injured as a result of a collision with a stationary, unoccupied OPP cruiser on Highway 401 in Cambridge. He was treated for a fractured hip at Hamilton General Hospital and released into police custody.
Eight SIU investigators, including three forensic identification technicians and one collision reconstruction investigator, were assigned to probe the circumstances of the collision. Police notes, communications tapes and the involved vehicles were examined and 13 police and civilian witnesses were interviewed as part of the investigation.
The SIU investigation determined that at about 11:45 a.m., Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) officers responded to an emergency call in Cambridge involving the operation of a moving car being driven by Mr. Meadus.
A description of the involved vehicle was broadcast to WRPS officers. At about 11:53 a.m., two WRPS officers saw the car, a Honda Accord, traveling northbound on Franklin Boulevard toward Highway 401. The officers pursued Mr. Meadus as he traveled westbound on Highway 401. Almost immediately after entering the highway, the officers terminated the pursuit. They turned off the cruiser's lights and siren and followed the Honda at some distance.
At about 12:08 p.m., the OPP was notified and several officers responded to Highway 401. An OPP officer spotted Mr. Meadus's vehicle and started to pursue it. Mr. Meadus executed numerous maneuvers on the highway. It eventually ended with his vehicle colliding, as it traveled eastbound in the westbound lanes of the highway, with a stationary OPP cruiser. The officer had parked his cruiser in the westbound lanes to block all westbound traffic in an effort to create a safety zone.
Based on all the available evidence, Director Cornish stated, "The evidence is consistent among all witnesses, police and civilians, and further corroborated by the physical evidence. I believe the police intervention in this matter was measured, proportionate and intended to mitigate the risk to public safety. The fact that no one was killed can only be attributed to sheer luck and, in no small measure, to the intervention of the police. The involved officers likely averted a greater tragedy when they alerted members of the public to the danger through the use of their emergency equipment to create the buffer zone between the ultimate collision site and the traveling public."
Mr. Meadus currently faces charges as a result of this incident. As a result, the SIU will not be issuing any further information on this investigation pending the outcome of that proceeding.
The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of officials (municipal, regional and provincial police officers, police officers with the Nishnawbe Aski Police Service, special constables with the Niagara Parks Commission and peace officers with the Legislative Protective Service) that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault and/or the discharge of a firearm at a person. All investigations are conducted by SIU investigators who are civilians. Under the Special Investigations Unit Act, the Director of the SIU must
- consider whether the official has committed a criminal offence in connection with the incident under investigation
- depending on the evidence, cause a criminal charge to be laid against the official where grounds exist for doing so, or close the file without any charges being laid
- publicly report the results of its investigations