2 dead, 2 injured in Hamilton crash, SIU investigating

The province’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is probing a fatal crash in Hamilton overnight that left two people dead.

The crash happened at John Street South and Young Street just before 11 p.m. on Sunday.

“Hamilton police had an interaction with a motor vehicle on John Street. Shortly thereafter a collision occurred involving two motor vehicles and the SIU [Special Investigations Unit] has invoked their mandate,” Const. Indy Bharaj said.

The SIU said the interaction involved a Hamilton police officer, who was driving the forensics van, and a man in a civilian vehicle driving erratically on John Street near Forest Avenue.

The driver fled north on John and struck a vehicle that was heading west on Young, killing two people in that vehicle. Paramedics say a man in his 30s died at the scene. Another man in his 40s died of his injuries in hospital.

Two other men, one in his 20s and another in his 30s, were also injured. One is the driver of the vehicle that was hit — he was taken to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. The other is the driver of the vehicle that fled — he was taken to hospital but his injuries are not life-threatening.

The driver of the vehicle that fled, a 20-year-old Hamilton man, was arrested for impaired operation causing death.

It is not yet clear if the police officer was injured.

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Update: Based on information from police and the SIU, the police forensics van was involved in an altercation. An earlier report stated that the police van was involved in the crash.