A motorcyclist is dead after being involved in a wrong-way collision on a Highway 401 on-ramp while possibly fleeing police.
According to the Special Investigations Unit, a Toronto Police Service officer in a marked cruiser attempted to pull over the motorcycle while it travelled westbound on Highway 401 at around 5:30 p.m.
The SIU says that the motorcyclist initially pulled over onto the northbound shoulder of Highway 401’s collector lanes but as the officer approached, the motorcyclist made a U-turn and headed eastbound in the westbound lanes of the highway. At that point, the SIU says that the motorcycle went the wrong way on a ramp from Leslie Street to Highway 401 and collided with another vehicle.
The motorcycle rider, a 25-year-old man, was then pronounced dead on scene.
The SIU has invoked their mandate and has assigned three investigators and two forensic investigators to the case.
In a news release issued late Sunday night, the SIU urged anyone who may have witnessed the incident or who might have dashcam footage to come forward.
The SIU is an arm’s length agency that investigates whenever police are involved in a death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story indicated that police were pursuing the motorcyclist at the time of the collision. The exact circumstances of the crash are still under investigation and have not yet been determined by the SIU.