Mother shares details of OPP cruiser crash that killed 10-year-old
Posted December 15, 2025 1:16 pm.
The mother of the 10-year-old boy who was killed in a head-on collision with an Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) cruiser is shedding light on some details of the incident.
In a fundraiser, Chasity Tharp said that her husband, Matthew Bigras was driving home from their trailer with their son Michael, 10, and another passenger around 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.
“While driving down Highway 7, he (Matthew) hit a large patch of black ice. He tried his best to control the truck, but the ice patch was too big and sent him into the oncoming lane,” Tharp wrote on the GoFundMe post.
It happened between Drummond School Road and Drummond Concession 7, just east of Perth. The OPP officer involved in the collision was taken to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
Tharp said that Michael was “ejected out of the windshield and was dead on impact.”
“However, with the amazing paramedics that came on the scene, they were able to bring him back after 20 minutes of fighting,” she said.
Michael’s injuries are too severe as a result of the crash, Tharp said, and he is not able to come back from them. Since Saturday, the child has been kept on life support to allow people to say their goodbyes.
“My baby was turning 11 on Dec. 19th,” Tharp said. “He is fighting so hard, but even if a miracle were to happen, he won’t be able to walk or talk.”
On Sunday, Michael was declared brain dead.
The money raised will go to expenses related to Michael’s funeral and helping the family financially, as Matthew won’t be able to work for an extended period of time. Tharp said some of the funds will be going to the family’s mortgage and bills, while they “work through this life-changing path.”
“I want to say thank you to anyone who donates and to those who can’t, but share, you have helped just as much,” Tharp said.
In the same GoFundMe post, it reads that Matthew is in stable condition but has a broken leg, a crushed pelvis and a punctured spleen. In the latest update on Sunday, Tharp said that he is having surgery on Monday for his pelvic bone.
Health staff are trying to get Matthew through surgery and stable so he can be transported to CHEO to be with Michael in his final moments, Tharp said.
