No charges against police after driver gets hypothermia inside crashed car

Manitoba’s police watchdog won’t recommend charges after a driver who crashed his car evading police suffered hypothermia as crews worked to remove him from his crumpled vehicle.

A car sped past a Winnipeg Police Service cruiser on Feb. 17, 2025 shortly before 11:30 p.m., police told the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba. Officers tried to pull over the car near Henderson Highway and Johnson Avenue, but it continued to speed away, police said.

Officers followed from a distance but lost sight of the vehicle. The police helicopter spotted the car after it rear-ended another vehicle and crashed into a light standard on the northwest corner of Chief Peguis Trail and Henderson Highway.

A traffic analyst report determined the car was travelling at an average speed of 171 km/h and 114 km/h five seconds before the crash.

The vehicle’s passenger got out and tried to run away but was apprehended, police said. The driver was trapped inside the car and needed to be helped out by Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service members. The driver had a broken leg and had suffered hypothermia by the time he was removed from the car.

Both men were sent to hospital.

After viewing officer notes, audio transmissions, video from the police helicopter, traffic light footage, medical reports and civilian video, the IIU determined no charges would be laid against police.

The driver had charges pending as a result of the incident but they have since “been disposed of,” an IIU release said.