Police ‘lost sight’ of U-Haul van before wrong-way crash killed baby and grandparents in Whitby

New details have emerged regarding the wrong-way crash during a police pursuit in April that claimed the lives of an Ajax baby and his grandparents.

The new information comes via the Durham Police Services Board’s latest meeting, which included an update on several ongoing Special Investigation Unit cases.

This case began on April 29, when an off-duty officer witnessed a robbery at the Green Road and Highway 2 sometime before 8 p.m. on April 29.

The officer tried to intervene but the suspect allegedly pulled a knife and then fled in the U-Haul, according to the Board update.

The off-duty officer “strategically followed” the U-Haul until marked police cruisers caught up to the chase.

Durham Police officers pursued the van down Highway 2 and through several streets. It was previously reported police followed the van until it entered Highway 401 at Stevenson Road in Oshawa.

However, the new board report says the officers lost sigh of the U-Haul until re-establishing visual contact in Oshawa.

The U-Haul driver entered the highway the wrong way at Stevenson Road and continued to drive against traffic into Whitby. The board report indicates he struck a cruiser while entering.

Several Durham Police cars pursued the van, also against traffic, on the busy roadway. Video taken by an oncoming driver showing six cruisers in pursuit of the van by Thickson Road.

Just east of Highway 412, the van collided with several other vehicles, including a sedan and a transport truck.

Four people, including three-month-old Aditya Vivaan of Ajax, his grandfather Manivannan Srinivasapillai, 60, and his grandmother Mahalakshmi Ananthakrishnan, 55, died in the crash.

The grandparents were visiting their newborn grandchild from India for the first time. They had only been in the country for two days.

Vivaan’s father, Gokulnath Manivannan, 33, and mother Ashwitha Jawahar, 27, survived with serious injuries.

The U-Haul driver, 21, was killed and his 38-year-old passenger was seriously wounded.

The SIU was informed of the crash. They’ve identified two police officers who are now under investigation was well as 19 witness officers and 36 civilian witnesses.