Arrests made after off-duty police officer hurt in hit-and-run crash

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This article was published 14/06/2023 (861 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg police officer underwent surgery after he was seriously injured in a hit-and-run crash in Elmwood while driving to work on his motorcycle Wednesday morning.

Sources told the Free Press the suspects’ vehicle crossed the centre line and hit the officer’s bike head on.

A witness said the driver and passenger of a Dodge Caravan fled after the minivan and motorcycle collided at Talbot Avenue and Levis Street, just west of Stadacona Street, at about 6 a.m.

“It woke me up. It was like an explosion,” said the woman, who declined to give her name. “I knew it was a (crash).”

Charges were pending after multiple people, including the suspected driver, were arrested, said police spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen.

He said the motorcycle rider’s injuries are not life threatening, but he will face a lengthy recovery.

A source told the Free Press the motorcyclist was an off-duty officer, but police wouldn’t confirm that.

Sources said Chief Danny Smyth gave an update on the constable’s condition to Winnipeg Police Service staff Wednesday morning.

Smyth informed them the officer suffered serious injuries and was being treated at Health Sciences Centre.

Sources said the longtime constable underwent an operation for internal injuries, which included at least one significant fracture.

Police were investigating whether alcohol consumption was a factor on the part of the minivan driver.

After being awakened by the crash, the witness climbed out of bed and looked out her window.

Two men — one with a can of beer in his hand — were leaving on foot, while a third man was standing near the motorcyclist, who was down on the road, she said.

The woman, who has CPR training, decided to head outside to see if she could help the injured rider.

The temperature was about 10 C, so she took a blanket with her in case the victim was cold.

She said the rider had a visible injury to the back of his head and appeared to be in shock.

“He seemed conscious. His eyes were blinking, but he was not speaking or anything,” she said. “It was at first a little bit traumatizing to see him on the ground, and not (know) if he was going to survive.”

A helmet was on the road nearby, she said.

Another witness had called 911.

After the other man pointed out the motorcyclist’s head injury, the woman told him not to move the victim, fearing it would exacerbate the injuries.

By then, she could hear the sound of sirens as emergency services vehicles approached.

The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service station at Watt Street and Nairn Avenue is less than a kilometre away.

The woman said the man stayed at the scene a little longer and was chased by a firefighter when he left.

At least two men were later arrested in a suite at the Silver Lion Apartments, located at the corner of Talbot and Levis, and led out in handcuffs.

“It’s a terrible thing to injure someone like that and just run away from a scene,” said the woman. “That’s a very disgusting thing to do, to leave somebody there like that.”

Police closed Talbot between Stadacona and Brazier streets while investigating the collision. Plainclothes officers were involved in the investigation.

Within the taped-off scene, the damaged motorcycle, which had a bent front wheel, was surrounded by evidence markers and debris in the intersection of Talbot and Levis.

A helmet was next to a lamp post on the north sidewalk on Talbot.

The white minivan was parked against the curb in the northbound lane of Levis, just north of Talbot.

The vehicle had damage to its front right side and a shattered windshield.

A source said police were reviewing surveillance video from nearby buildings.

Three Winnipeg police officers have been seriously injured in two crashes this month.

In the other incident, two officers were on duty when their marked cruiser and a stolen pickup truck collided at Main Street and Belmont Avenue in West Kildonan at about 4 a.m. June 7.

Smyth has told the Free Press the officers suffered “some pretty significant injuries.”

He believed one of the officers would need surgery.

The crash happened shortly after police spotted a stolen truck near Inkster Boulevard and St. Cross Street.

McKae Ledingham, 25, was charged with several offences, including two counts each of dangerous driving causing bodily harm and criminal negligence causing bodily harm.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @chriskitching