Toronto’s popular Queen Street West neighbourhood bore witness to a dramatic police chase on Friday afternoon that ended with an allegedly stolen truck smashing into a popular storefront.
Toronto Police Service (TPS) officials said they have arrested two people in connection to the incident.
Around 3:15 p.m., shoppers along Queen Street West watched as a Dodge Ram pickup struck three cruisers and a police horse near University Avenue.
During a news conference later that evening, authorities said they recognized the truck as a stolen vehicle using their Automated Licence Plate Recognition camera around Queen and Beverley streets.
Imagine casually shopping and a truck rams into your store… happening now on Queen St. West. (off University Av). Driver was on the run and they pinned him in. pic.twitter.com/Cc7jGBG7Ef
— 'Dewale. (@authorwales) November 1, 2024
Mounted police, who were patrolling nearby, rushed to confront the driver, TPS said.
“As mounted officers approached the vehicle, the suspect drove towards the mounted officers, striking one of the horses,” Inspector Scott Shutt detailed.
When the driver attempted to flee, the truck rammed three police cruisers.
Shutt said the suspect first struck a police scout car “head-on.”
“The stolen vehicle then reversed up onto the curb and fled westbound, where it collided with a second scout car, and a third scout car then struck the vehicle, causing it to go up onto the curb,” Shutt said.
— Arakann (@ar4kann) November 1, 2024
Several videos of the police chase and subsequent crash have since gone viral on social media.
The pickup truck crashed into a Little Burgundy storefront, where the vehicle was boxed in by police cruisers.
A driver and a passenger of the allegedly stolen vehicle attempted to flee on foot and were pursued by police and mounted officers.
The incident left one officer and a police horse injured, TPS said. An unnamed officer, who was reportedly inside one of the rammed cruisers, was transported to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The horse, named York, was assessed by an equine health professional.
The driver was injured and was brought to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after being arrested. The passenger in the stolen vehicle was also arrested, police said.
It is not yet clear if charges have been laid.
On X, Toronto police Chief Myron Demkiw thanked officers at the scene.
“Thankful tonight that an injured officer will recover and no members of the public were hurt,” he wrote. “The driver of the car allegedly drove in to multiple police cars and also made contact with one of our three responding horses, York, who has been taken to the vet as a precaution.”
Demkiw concluded, “Our officers do incredible but often dangerous work keeping our city safe. Thank you to all of our members for what you do everyday.”
Thankful tonight that an injured officer will recover and no members of the public were hurt during the dynamic arrest of two people in a stolen vehicle in @TPS52Div. The driver of the car allegedly drove in to multiple police cars and also made contact with one of our three… https://t.co/J4mLdfj6yE
— Chief Myron Demkiw (@TPSMyronDemkiw) November 1, 2024
A portion of Queen Street West was closed Friday as police continued to investigate.
