On Tuesday December 6, 2022, at 12:50 p.m., the Barrie Police Service began to receive complaints from the public involving a silver-coloured sport utility vehicle (SUV) that was being operated in the area of Dunlop Street and Hart Drive in the City of Barrie.
This vehicle had been observed being driven in an erratic and dangerous manner and was believed to be responsible for a number of fail to remain collisions. In the end, police were able to determine that there had only been one collision that occurred with the intersection of Dunlop Street and Hart Drive after the silver-coloured SUV drove through the intersection and came in contact with two pick up trucks that were travelling in opposite directions.
The driver of the SUV continued to drive eastbound on Dunlop Street in a manner that continued to catch the attention of motorists who began to provide details to Call Takers from the Barrie Police Service Communications Unit.
Responding officers immediately concentrated on the area where the reports were coming into and at Bayfield and Wellington Streets, the SUV was observed travelling at a high rate of speed as it travelled eastbound through a red light at the intersection, narrowly missing a marked Barrie Police Service vehicle. The SUV continued to be operated in a dangerously, as it travelled aggressively at a high rate of speed but was lost in the area of Wellington and St. Vincent Streets.
Later that afternoon, police received a call for an abandoned motor vehicle in a private parking lot located behind a business on Owen Street and upon arrival, determined that it was the SUV that was wanted from earlier in the day.
Yesterday (Thursday December 8), the driver of the SUV, a 26-year-old male of no fixed address was arrested and charged with Dangerous Operation of a Motor Vehicle and Failure to Stop after Accident. He was held for a bail hearing and was remanded into custody.
The Barrie Police Service wish to thank the public for their assistance with regards to the many details that they shared as this incident unfolded and afterwards when the collision and on-going investigation took place.
| Occurrence #: | BA22066166 |
| Prepared by: | Corporate Communications Coordinator, Peter Leon |