Flying goose caused OPP officer’s motorcycle accident in Barrie
Posted June 26, 2014 1:17 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A veteran Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officer suffered serious leg injuries in a motorcycle crash in Barrie on Thursday after he was struck by a flying goose during a training exercise, OPP Commissioner Vincent Hawkes says.
Const. Pete Tucker, from the OPP’s Niagara detachment, was riding on Highway 400 near Highway 11 when he was struck by the goose. The impact caused him to lose control and veer across several lanes into a ditch.
He was airlifted to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.
“He’s been stabilized but there is going to be a long road to recovery,” Hawkes said.
“Most of his injuries are on his extremities and mostly his legs.”
The officer was part of a motorcade training exercise that involved 14 motorcycles and other vehicles at the time of the crash.
Hawkes said it was fortunate that the highway was shut down to traffic at the time, or things could have been worse.
Tucker is in his 40s and is a married father.
“He’s very experienced,” Hawkes said, adding he’s part of the OPP’s Golden Helmets team. “It’s just one of these fluke accidents.”
“I’ve never seen one of our officers hit by a bird flying in the air.”
Highway 11, both northbound and southbound, was closed at Highway 400, but has since reopened.
