Witness video captures moments before and after fatal Hwy. 401 wrong-way driver crash

A video taken by a witness and sent to CityNews captures vehicle driving in the wrong direction on Highway 401 near Whitby, moments before a crash and the aftermath.

[robmeier]

Somewhere today, there is a son or daughter that lost both their child and their parents over the willful act of a careless, selfish fool. RIP to the deceased and condolences to those who suffer.

[AngelineWoodcock]

My son was traveling on the 401 about a month ago and witnessed a vehicle going the wrong way on the opposite side of the highway, he pulled over and called the police and luckily they stopped them before another tragic accident. Sheer craziness.

[bobuncle]

According to CTV news, a robbery suspect was fleeing police. This occurred around 7:50 local time near Whitby Ontario. Another report goes on to say 4 fatalities including 1 infant.

[reztv]

seeing alot of people blaming the police instead of the actual criminal

[Tyro_]

Who cares if the cops were chasing him? Man people refuse to take accountability for anything nowadays… that’s irrefutably the fault of the guy who made the decision to endanger everybody

[joanneogley]

My heart goes out to the families who’ve lost loved ones. Just wondering if an emergency alert was put out, I’m just wondering? I realize this all must have escalated very fast.

[buttondeity]

we need Canadian law reform, all criminals are let off the hook because the criminals the loopholes of Canadian they do not respect

[austinsidler]

I'm absolutely appaled and disgusted by the polices behavior. They need to be held accountable for killing those people out of negligence

[Ese.vato]

People are really blaming police for what happened rather than the criminal who led to everything in the first place .

[Letterwordd]

It's truly heartbreaking to hear about the devastating outcome of this police pursuit. The loss of innocent lives, including that of an infant and their grandparents, is an unimaginable tragedy that could have been avoided. Pursuing a suspect into a high-speed chase on a busy highway, especially when it's beyond the jurisdiction of the local police, seems reckless and unnecessary.

In situations like this, where public safety is paramount, it's essential for law enforcement to consider alternative methods of apprehension. Calling for support from the OPP or utilizing police helicopters could have been safer options to prevent such a catastrophic event. Sadly, the decision to engage in a pursuit led to irreversible consequences.

This incident underscores the importance of reevaluating pursuit policies and emphasizing the safety of innocent bystanders above all else. My heart goes out to the families affected by this tragedy, and I hope that lessons will be learned to prevent similar incidents in the future.

[randallmacdonald]

You see why it is about to happen. You KNOW what's going to happen. You uselessly yell. Then it happens. It's just a horrible thing to even see in a video. I feel sorry for the victims as well as the witness who took the video.

[nathannate]

Idiots driving on the wrong side are the blame, not the police.

[MrAlan]

It was a Uhaul van driving at crazy speeds on the opposite side of the road!!?

[xoxox]

I just can’t imagine what those families are going through loosing loved ones.

[MrPatrick]

The front of that Semi...what the heck!!

[killerlegs]

This is just so unbelievable'!! my condolences to all the family's evolved

[tga]

Im looking forward to seeing an a pursuit video from the police dashcam!

[neikystephenson]

The off duty officer needs to be charged period. Why stand there and watch the suspect walk right out the door and then call the police? He should have made a citizens arrest, if we can then so can he and he even has more experience than us with criminals. Look at the mess he has caused from Bowmanville to Whitby a whole 20 mins of putting the public at risk.

[Bluberrybubblz]

Cannot see much of anything.🤷🏻‍♀️ I thought high speed chase were not allowed. Weird people either way.

[sampicano]

I had a dream last night about multiple cars going the wrong direction on a highway. I don't remember if they crashed.