Greater Sudbury Police are hoping the public can help find the drivers of three vehicles involved in a burnout incident in Hanmer on Aug. 14.
The incident occurred outside the Cooperative Funeral Home that evening, following memorial services for a 21-year-old man who died Aug. 4 after crashing his ATV into a parked car.
Later the same evening, Darian Grenier, a friend of the man who died, posted a 14-minute video to Facebook showing numerous young people, mostly young men, in formal wear, cheering as vehicles perform burn-outs in the parking lot and intersection outside the Cooperative Funeral Home.
In his Facebook post, Grenier said the event was in honour of their deceased friend. He also seemed to take issue with those who complained. Although he mentions his deceased friend by name, Sudbury.com is omitting the name out of respect for the man's family.
"Full video of [name omitted] burnout send off for anyone who missed it and would like to view," the post begins. "And to those who were complaining about 'a bunch of valley kids,' if you guys didn’t clearly see we [were] all gathered at a funeral home and dressed up, we had EMS and fire units on site to supervise how the hell could you think this was a random act.
"We apologize for disturbing you guys but the words said by some of you was just flat out f-----g disrespectful."
The video Grenier posted can be watched below.
While Grenier insisted in the post that EMS and Greater Sudbury Fire Service were aware of the burnout and were on site supervising, GSPS spokersperson Kaitlyn Dunn denied this was the case, explaining that there were representatives of some emergency services at the memorial, but they were there as mourners with a connection to the families of the man who died. They were not there, Dunn said, to supervise the burnout.
Police launched a criminal investigation after the video surfaced, and yesterday announced that 15 people had been charged in connection to it.
Charges include 16 counts of stunt driving, 15 counts of careless driving, three counts of driving while under suspension, two counts of operating a motor vehicle without proper insurance and four counts of plate and/or permit violations.
Now, police are looking to identify the drivers of three vehicles GSPS believe were involved. Photos of the vehicles in question can be seen in the gallery at the top of the page.
The three vehicles are a Mazda M3I Hatchback, a Dodge Ram 1500 and a Hyundai Genesis Coupe with a very loud exhaust.
“We ask that the drivers come forward and take responsibility for their actions as the Traffic Management Unit will continue to investigate this matter until the drivers are identified,” police said in a news release today.
If you recognize the vehicles or the drivers, GSPS asks that you contact the Traffic Management Unit at 705-675-9171 extension 2412 (Constable Roberge) or extension 2417 (Constable Hamilton).
You may also leave tips with Sudbury Rainbow Crime Stoppers at 705-222-8477 (toll free, 800-222-8477. You can also leave anonymous tips on at SudburyCrimeStoppers.com.
