A Lambton OPP has been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing after an elderly woman was struck by a cruiser in Corunna.
The Special Investigations Unit probed the incident at the corner of St. Clair Boulevard and the St. Clair Parkway and found while it was clear the unnamed officer caused the accident, the Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino says he wasn’t criminally responsible.
On Nov. 16, the woman was crossing at the corner of St. Clair Boulevard and the St. Clair Parkway – the SIU concluded she had the right of way.
The officer was in a cruiser waiting at a red light for westbound traffic on the boulevard, planning to turn left when the light turned green. But when he turned, he struck the woman who was already crossing the street. She “rolled onto the hood of the cruiser on impact, and was then propelled off the hood several metres down the road as the vehicle came to a stop. She had suffered serious fractures of her left leg” wrote Martino in his report.
“There is little doubt that the (officer) is responsible for the collision. The Complainant had the right-of-way and the officer was legally obligated to refrain from turning left until he could do so safely.”
But Martino notes there was nothing in the officers actions which would lead to a criminal charge. “He says that he simply did not see the (elderly woman) and believed his path was clear as he travelled into the crosswalk. I am left to take the (officer) at his word as there is nothing in the evidence, aside from the collision itself, to suggest that the officer was distracted when he ought not have been.”
