Indian Couple, 3-Month-Old Grandchild Killed In Multi-Vehicle Collision During Police Chase In Canada

An Indian couple visiting Canada and their three-month-old grandchild were killed in Canada as they were unfortunate victims of a police chase. Police were pursuing a liquor store robbery suspect driving the wrong way.

The robbery suspect led Durham police on a high-speed chase against opposing traffic on Highway 401 leading to a multi-vehicle collision on Highway 401 in Whitby, about 50 km east of Toronto, police said on Thursday.

All four people were pronounced, including the robbery suspect, dead at the scene.

Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) said that two of the victims, a 60-year-old man, and a 55-year-old woman, were visiting from India. However, the SIU did not release the names of the victims. The couple’s three-month-old grandson also died in the multi-vehicle collision. Highway 401 was closed for several hours after the incident on Monday, it said.

The agency said that the parents of the infant, his 33-year-old father and 27-year-old mother, were travelling in the same vehicle and were taken to hospital. The mother’s injuries are serious, the SIU said.

The collision involved at least six vehicles, CBC News reported. Officials said the deadly car chase started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville and ended around 20 minutes later.

A 38-year-old male passenger from the cargo van was also taken to the hospital to be treated for serious injuries. The autopsies for the victims were conducted in Toronto on Wednesday.

The High Commission of India in Ottawa also extended its condolences to the deceased. “Heartfelt condolences on tragic loss of Indian nationals Mr. Manivannan, Mrs. Mahalakshmi & their grandchild in the Highway 401 collision. CG met the bereaved family at the hospital & assured all possible assistance. We are in touch with Canadian authorities,” the high commission said.

Seven investigators, one forensic investigator and one collision reconstructionist continue to investigate this case, the statement said. The SIU is an agency called in to investigate whenever police are involved in a death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault. Milica Maljkovic Birkett, a witness to the deadly police chase and had a lucky escape, said she didn’t have time to think.

She was driving her regular commute on the 401 when she was suddenly face-to-face with the suspect van barrelling toward her car on the wrong way. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, like what just happened? What’s going on?'” Maljkovic Birkett told CBC Toronto on Thursday.

Maljkovic Birkett said the experience has taken time to process. “It’s so scary,” she said. “For whatever reason, somehow my life was spared. But (four) others were taken and that was just really heavy,” she said.