A 24-year-old Pickering man was charged after allegedly leading police on a 40 kilometre chase from Oshawa to Scarborough that eventually prompted officers to dispatch a helicopter to track him down.
Early on Friday morning, at about 12:30 a.m., officers tried to stop a vehicle in the area of Harmony and Olive roads in Oshawa after it was observed “weaving in and out of the lanes.”
The driver did not stop and sped away, eventually merging onto the westbound Highway 401.
Durham Regional Police sent their helicopter, Air1, whose pilot clocked the driver allegedly reaching speeds of 160 kilometres per hour.
Officers pursuing on the ground eventually backed off due to public safety concerns.
The driver allegedly continued into Scarborough, heading from Kingston Road, to Lawrence Avenue East and then onto Scarborough Golf Club Road, before pulling onto Jeffton Crescent.
Video released by police shows the suspect ditching the vehicle and heading on foot on a pathway before hopping into a backyard when confronted by officers on foot.
When an officer spots the suspect on a porch, he is seen leaping off the porch and running through a front yard before the officer tackles him to the ground.
Police identified the suspect as Johvan Waldron. Two other occupants of the vehicle were released unconditionally.
Waldron was charged with offences including possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, racing a motor vehicle and flight from police.
He was held in custody pending a bail hearing.
