Two Durham cops charged criminally in deadly wrong-way chase on Hwy. 401

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Two Durham Regional Police officers have been criminally charged after a police chase the wrong way down a stretch of Hwy. 401 ended in a head-on crash that killed four – including an infant and his grandparents.

The Special Investigations Unit revealed Friday that Sgt. Richard Flynn and Const. Brandon Hamilton have been charged with three counts each of criminal negligence causing death and two counts each of criminal negligence causing bodily harm for their alleged roles in the April 2024 crash.

Both officers have been suspended with pay and will be assigned to administrative duties “if and when they’re reinstated,” Durham Regional Police Chief Peter Moreira said during a news conference Friday afternoon.

The Chief said now that the SIU has released its findings, an internal investigation by Durham Regional Police, which will not interfere with the criminal prosecution, will follow.

The deadly pursuit happened after an LCBO theft.

Ontario’s police watchdog Director Joseph Martino said in Friday’s news release he “has reasonable grounds” to believe the officers committed criminal offences in relation to the April 29 crash.

The officers are slated to make their first court appearance on Feb. 13.

“As the matter is before the courts, and in consideration of the fair trial interests of the accused, the SIU will not provide further comment on the investigation,” the news release said.

Similarly, Moreira said on Friday that he would not be making any comments that may be perceived to have any impact on that process.

“The fact remains that regardless of the results of the SIU investigation, this was a tragic and catastrophic event that resulted in the death of innocent lives, devastated a family and has profoundly impacted our community. A community that also includes every member of the Durham Regional Police Service,” the chief said.

The charges come after a nine-month probe by the SIU into the actions of the officers – one of whom is believed to be a 34-year veteran, while the other has served for four years – who faced immense scrutiny for starting the wrong-way pursuit that involved at least six cop cars on the major highway following the robbery.

The deadly crash happened east of Hwy. 412 in Whitby. Minutes earlier, public safety officials voiced concerns about the danger of the pursuit. An OPP officer was heard saying “someone’s going to get hurt.”

A senior Durham cop reportedly called the pursuit off just prior to the suspect van driving onto the highway. However, officers continued the pursuit, according to an internal report.

The pursuit ended in a fiery, six-car crash that killed three-month old Aditya Vivaan and his grandparents, Manivannan Srinivasapillai, 60, and Mahalakshmi Ananthakrishnan, 55. They had arrived in Canada from India two days earlier to meet their grandson.

“I, Gokulnath Manivannan, and my wife Ashwitha Jawahar, are mourning the loss of three of the most precious people in our lives, our three-month-old bundle of joy Aditya Vivaan, our respected father Mr. Manivannan Srinivasapillai and our most god-fearing mother Mrs. Mahalakshmi Ananthakrishnan,” the parents of the baby said in a statement following the incident.

Gagandeep Singh, 21, was also killed. He was driving the U-Haul cube van that was the subject of the chase.

Previously, the SIU said the pursuit was launched after suspects driving a cargo van allegedly tried to steal from the LCBO near Hwy. 2 and Green Rd. in Bowmanville.

An internal police report said one of the men pulled a knife on an off-duty Durham cop who was at the same LCBO.

Durham cops began a 20-minute pursuit spanning more than 25 km before continuing onto the highway and following the van that was headed westbound in the eastbound lanes.

An internal police report said a police supervisor’s apparent attempt to call off the pursuit happened just before the U-Haul drove onto Hwy. 401 via Stevenson Rd. in Oshawa.

“We must guard against arriving at conclusions before all the evidence is presented. We owe this not just to the family of the deceased but also to the officers who are involved,” Moreira said. “Notwithstanding today’s focus is on this tragic event and the SIU’s decision to lay charges, I appreciate that there are more questions than answers.”

“Time and our justice system will answer those. But it does not diminish the fact that the members of this organization continue to serve everyday, building trust and delivering on our community safety mandate,” he added.

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In a joint statement emailed to CTV News, the lawyers representing the two officers called the charges “wrong” and that they “intend to show that in court.”

“The officers’ sole motivation was to save lives by alerting motorists and trying to stop a bandit who decided to put everyone in mortal danger,” the statement reads. “That bandit is the one responsible for the tragic outcome, not the police.

The van’s driver, who was killed, was facing charges for two other liquor store robberies. He was released on $2,000 bail by a Justice of the Peace in a Hamilton court and was set to return to Milton court on May 14.

Sources said that Singh had been in Canada for a short time as a foreign student from India but had fallen into a narcotics dependency.

Court records show Singh was facing charges for allegedly stealing merchandise from a Home depot in Milton on Jan. 15, 2024, a Burlington LCBO store on Jan. 28, 2024, and a Home depot in Milton on Feb. 27, 2024. He was also facing a robbery charge for allegedly stealing merchandise from an LCBO in Oakville on Jan. 26, 2024.

None of those charges had been tested in court.