A man who witnessed his vehicle being stolen from his Fort Rouge neighbourhood jumped into the pickup truck’s box and called 911 as two teens allegedly led police on a high-speed chase that ended with multiple people in hospital.
The man and his friend noticed a male and female breaking into his 2023 Ford F150 Saturday at 7:45 p.m on the 800 block of Dudley Avenue. The resident and his friend jumped into the truck’s box and the vehicle fled at a high rate of speed, the Winnipeg Police Service said in a news release Monday.
Police were able to track the truck thanks to real-time directions given by the owner. Efforts to flee the box were not possible due to the suspect’s erratic and extreme driving, police said.
“Police members attempted to utilize a tire deflation device in the vicinity of Brandon Avenue and Osborne Street. At this time, the suspect vehicle continued westbound in the area of Brandon Avenue at a high rate of speed, striking an unmarked WPS canine unit that was traveling northbound on Osborne Street,” WPS said in the release.
The truck’s owner and his friend were ejected from the box and sustained serious injuries. The canine unit officer was also injured. All three were sent to hospital along with the canine unit officer who were all sent to hospital.
The police dog was uninjured.
Two youth suspects were arrested near the scene of the crash and were treated for non-serious injuries. Both victims and the accused know each another, police said.
A 17-year-old boy from Winnipeg is charged with a slew of offenses including dangerous operation of a vehicle causing bodily harm, failing to stop at the scene of an accident, causing bodily harm by criminal negligence, impaired driving, failure to comply, theft over $5,000 and driving without a licence.
He remains in custody.
A 15-year-old female has been charged with theft over $5,000. She was released on an undertaking.
The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba has assumed the investigation.