Street-racing car hits police cruiser as it tries to flee scene in Mississauga
Published February 16, 2024 at 5:22 pm
An 18-year-old man has been charged after a car that was street racing in an area of east Mississauga notorious for the illegal activity struck a police cruiser as it tried to flee the scene.
Peel Regional Police said in an email to insauga.com there were no injuries as a result of the collision that took place just before 3 a.m. on Feb. 4 after Peel police road safety officers had spotted two cars racing in an industrial area west of Dixie Road and north of The Queensway East.
According to police, about 100 or so cars were gathered in the area of Middlegate and Stanfield roads, “a known street racing location,” when road safety officers saw a Mini Cooper and another car racing on Middlegate Road.
“Officers observed this Mini Cooper engaged in dangerous driving and racing another motor vehicle on Middlegate,” a police spokesperson said in the email.
In a post to social media on Friday, police said that as officers tried to stop the Mini Cooper, it attempted to flee the scene, “striking a cruiser.”
Police said there was minor damage to the vehicles involved.
An 18-year-old man is charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and flight from a peace officer. He had his licence suspended and the car was impounded, police said.
Map shows area in east Mississauga where street racing charges were laid against the driver of a Mini Cooper.
Peel police and other law enforcement agencies across the GTA and southern Ontario have been taking greater aim at illegal street racers and stunt drivers in Mississauga, Brampton and elsewhere in recent years.
Police in Peel laid 783 stunt driving charges during a six-month enforcement campaign in 2023 that targeted illegal street racers, dangerous drivers and other law-breakers on the roads in Mississauga and Brampton.
In total, they investigated 941 vehicles and issued 1,230 Provincial Offence Notices during Project ERASE (Eliminating Racing Activities on Streets Everywhere) and Noisemaker, which concluded last Oct. 1.
Stunt driving is defined as vehicles travelling at:
- 50 km/h or more over the speed limit where the posted limit is above 80 km/h
- 40 km/h or more over where the limit is 80 km/h or less
- a speed of 150 km/h or more on any road or highway