A potentially deadly situation was averted Wednesday morning thanks to the heroics of a senior member of the Huron detachment’s crime unit, OPP say.
OPP received two calls just before 8 a.m. about a commercial transport truck driving erratically on Highway 8. Witnesses said the vehicle was heading westbound from Seaforth at low speeds into opposing traffic, police say.
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Police say when officers first found the vehicle near Front Road, they tried repeatedly with lights and sirens blaring to get the driver to stop, but the truck kept on going.
Spike belts were deployed and several tires were deflated, police say, but again the vehicle continued driving at a slow speed.
Some deflated tires & destroyed spike belts but otherwise this potentially dangerous incident came to a safe ending this morning. The driver failed to stop at a low speed before a #HuronOPP officer climbed onto the rig & managed to get the vehicle stopped east of Clinton. ^js pic.twitter.com/ZrPEiaEHLy
— OPP West Region (@OPP_WR) September 16, 2020
At that point, the vehicle was approaching school zones in Clinton, and police say the level of urgency to stop the vehicle was “extremely high.”
“Without hesitation, a senior member of the Huron OPP Crime Unit instinctively leaped onto the side of the truck and was able to get into the cab compartment,” police said in a release.
“With the assistance of another officer, they were able to get the truck stopped and the driver out of the vehicle.”
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Police believe the driver had been experiencing a medical-related event at the time of the incident but the investigation is ongoing.
Highway 8 between Clinton and Front Road was closed to the public until roughly 10:15 a.m. Wednesday.
