Officer behind wheel, police say

SUV smashes through hydro box, then fences, before ending up in yard

December 28, 2009
Barbara Brown
The Hamilton Spectator
(Dec 28, 2009)




An off-duty Hamilton police officer is under investigation after a car crashed through a tall wood fence of a Mount Hope townhouse complex early yesterday.

The driver reportedly fled the scene.

Hamilton Police Superintendent Debbie Clark confirmed an off-duty officer driving a Volvo SUV was involved in a single-vehicle collision on Thames Way at 4 a.m., near Upper James and White Church roads.

Clark said nobody was injured and no charges have been laid as yet, although the accident remains under "active investigation."

The collision occurred in a residential subdivision west of the Mount Hope intersection. The vehicle also struck a hydro transformer and Hydro One was called to inspect the damage, said Clark.

Homeowner Cathy Robertson, 60, in whose back yard the sport utility vehicle came to rest, was awakened by a loud rumbling crash early yesterday morning. She got out of bed and went to peer out the sliding-glass doors into her back yard. She saw a grey SUV had smashed through a three-metre tall, wooden fence -- coming within two metres of her home -- before it struck a second fence.

Robertson said the Volvo's windshield was cracked and its headlights were out. A woman, dressed in civilian clothes, was walking away from the car when Robertson called to her.

"I called out to her because she was leaving and I asked her if she was all right. She said, 'Yes.' And I said, 'Is there anyone else in the vehicle?' And she said, 'No.' And then she disappeared into the dark."

The homeowner, who is a relative of former Hamilton police chief Ken Robertson, called 911.

Hamilton police marked off the accident scene with caution tape yesterday morning and blocked vehicle traffic to the street.

Robertson said it appeared in the light of day that the driver had first struck a hydro transformer located at the corner of Provident Way and Homestead Drive and then failed to negotiate the curve in the road.

The road conditions early yesterday morning were icy, she said.

bbrown@thespec.com

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