SIU clears police after 14-year-old struck by vehicle while fleeing Canada’s Wonderland

The province’s police watchdog has determined police did not commit a criminal offence in the death of a 14-year-old who was struck outside Canada’s Wonderland and later died.

The Special Investigations Unit says a York region police officer was patrolling the parking lot of the amusement park in Vaughan around 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 13, 2023, when he saw someone “acting suspiciously between two vehicles.”

When the officer exited his vehicle to investigate further, the teen fled on foot with the officer in pursuit. Video footage from the park showed the teen run up a grass, tree-lined berm and eventually onto the southbound lanes of Jane Street. From there, eyewitness accounts said the teen ran into the northbound passing lane where he was struck by a white BMW before rolling off and hitting the rear of a second vehicle that was stopped in a left-turn lane.

Within seconds the officer who was pursuing the teen was on the scene and called for first responders. Paramedics then transported the teen to a nearby hospital in serious condition. He died five days later from “multiple blunt force trauma.”

In his decision, SIU director Joseph Martino said while he is unable to reasonably conclude that the officer’s conduct was criminally negligent, he did raise some concerns with the actions taken that evening.

Martino said while the officer in question may have been justifiably concerned about robberies in the area, he questioned whether he had the “lawful authority” to stop the teen that night given that there may have been other “innocent explanations” to account for his presence and why he was running away.

Despite these concerns, Martino went on to conclude that the officer never did stop the teen and that the teen was unlikely aware that he was being chased by police when he was struck by the vehicle.