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Two Canadian police officers face criminal charges related to collision which killed Indian couple, their infant grandson

Jan 18, 2025 12:37 PM IST

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has said that it has “reasonable grounds to believe” two Durham Regional Police Service officers committed criminal offences in relation to a fatal multi-vehicle collision that occurred on April 29, 2024

Toronto: Two Canadian police officers are facing criminal charges related to the deaths last year in a collision of an Indian couple and their infant grandchild.

A police vehicle in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (Picture for representative purpose only). (Bloomberg)
A police vehicle in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (Picture for representative purpose only). (Bloomberg)

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) said, in a release on Friday, that it had “reasonable grounds to believe” two Durham Regional Police Service officers committed criminal offences in relation to a fatal multi-vehicle collision that occurred on April 29, 2024.

Sergeant Richard Flynn and Constable Brandon Hamilton are facing charges related to criminal negligence leading to death or bodily harm.

The traffic mishap claimed the lives of 60-year-old Manivannan Srinivasapillai and his wife 55-year-old Mahalakshmi Ananthakrishnan along with that of their three-month-old grandson Aditya Vivaan Gokulnath.

The driver of the van that was being chased by police in connection with a robbery, 21-year-old Gagandeep Singh, was also killed after colliding with the vehicle in which the other three deceased were passengers. Singh, an international student, faced multiple charges at the time and was out in bail and subject to a driving ban.

The passenger in the vehicle which was chased by the police, 38-year-old Manpreet Gill, also allegedly involved in the robbery at the liquor store, was also injured. In December 2024, he was sentenced to five-and-a-half months of jail time on account of over a dozen charges which did not include any linked to the fatal crash.

At approximately 7.50 pm on April 29, Durham Regional Police Service became aware of a robbery at an alcohol outlet. Officers located a cargo van of interest and followed the van through numerous streets in Durham region. Thereafter, the van entered a highway but was going in the wrong direction. As the chase entered the highway with Durham police vehicles were also driving against the flow of traffic, a police radio recording had one officer saying, “Someone is going to get hurt,” according to local media reports

Lawyers for the charged police officers said their “sole motivation was to save lives by alerting motorists and trying to stop a bandit who decided to put everyone in mortal danger. That bandit is the one responsible for the tragic outcome, not the police,” according to the outlet CTV News.

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