A pair of Saugeen Shores police vehicles were deemed inoperable after they were hit by a driver accused of operating a stolen vehicle.
The incident happened Thursday evening when officers were notified about a stolen vehicle that was possibly heading towards Saugeen Shores.
At around 9 p.m., a patrolling officer spotted the suspect vehicle travelling south through Southampton. The officer reportedly had to veer onto the shoulder of the road to avoid hitting the vehicle head-on. The driver is then said to have continued driving dangerously towards Port Elgin.
After that, another officer came across the suspect vehicle and watched as the driver allegedly failed to stop at several controlled intersections.
The suspect's vehicle was located at a gas pump in downtown Port Elgin when officers attempted to box the vehicle in. The driver allegedly put it into reverse, slamming into one of the marked cruisers at a high rate of speed before accelerating forward, striking the other marked police vehicle.
One of the officers suffered minor injuries during the incident.
"Both police vehicle [sic] received heavy damage due to the collisions and were rendered inoperable," read a release from Saugeen Shores police. "The suspect vehicle was able to exit the lot in a very dangerous manner without care or concern of any other vehicles on the roadway or pedestrians in the area."
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) has been notified about the incident since the vehicle took off in a direction out of police jurisdiction. Saugeen Shores police said the OPP is in charge of completing the investigation as they are the originating agency in the matter.
Further details will be provided by the OPP as they become available.