The province's police watchdog has terminated its probe into the serious injury of a driver who crashed shortly after being roused by a Woodstock police officer.
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) had been investigating since the January 13 crash. Woodstock police were called by a concerned citizen who spotted a pickup truck stopped with its engine running and the driver asleep on Bexley Street. An officer arrived and went to the driver's door where he managed to wake the driver.
After being awoken, the driver immediately put his vehicle in drive and accelerated from the area, the SIU found. The man reportedly lost control of the truck shortly after and crashed into the southside ditch of Dundas Street in the area of Zorra and East Zorra Tavistock Line. He was taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with fractured ribs.
The SIU was notified of the incident because of the police interaction before the collision. Based on preliminary inquiries by investigators, the decision to end the investigation was made on Friday.
"The officer had not engaged the man in a pursuit and was nowhere near him when he crashed," said SIU Director Joseph Martino. "On this record, it was patently obvious that there was nothing to investigate regarding the officer’s potential criminal liability in connection with the collision. The file has been closed."
