The province's Special Investigations Unit (SIU)
has been called in and has launched an investigation to determine
if actions taken by Greater Sudbury Police officers may have played
a role in causing Saturday's death of a 16-year old cyclist on
Errington St. in Chelmsford.
Shortly before the accident, two Greater Sudbury
Police Service officers were patrolling southbound on Errington in
a marked cruiser, says an SIU news release issued Monday.
When the officers saw two cars, a Chevrolet
Cavalier and a Toyota Corolla, travelling in the opposite direction
at a high rate of speed, they turned the cruiser around, and 1.5
kilometres later found that the driver of the Corolla had hit a
cyclist.
What the SIU would not speculate on is whether or
not the officers were involved in a chase of the two cars, leading
to increased speeds.
The cyclist, Patrick Herard, was taken to St.
Joseph's Health Centre in Sudbury where he was pronounced dead.
None of the occupants in either car were seriously injured.
A friend of Herard's riding beside him on his own
bicycle, narrowly avoided being hit during the incident.
Jason Daoust, 18, has been arrested in relation
to Herard's death. Another person was also arrested but can't be
named under provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Both have
been charged with criminal negligence causing death, dangerous
driving causing death and racing.
A pair of SIU investigators, including a
collision reconstructionist, are trying to determine what role, if
any, police played in the events surrounding the fatality.
The SIU is a civilian agency that investigates
circumstances involving police and members of the public resulting
in serious injury, sexual assault or death. The SIU's director,
James Cornish, will decide at the conclusion of the investigation
whether or not criminal charges are warranted.
