Driver charged after Air1 helicopter chase from Cobourg to Ajax

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Published September 29, 2022 at 3:35 pm

A driver is charged with numerous offences after allegedly taking off from a traffic stop in Cobourg and leading police on a chase through Durham Region.

Shortly before 1:30 a.m. on September 29, Cobourg Police Service contacted their colleagues in Durham Regional Police. They reported that one of their officers was nearly struck when a car they had pulled over took off from the traffic stop.

The driver Cobourg police had pulled over was behind the wheel of a Porsche SUV. Durham officers later spotted the Porsche on Labrador Dr in Oshawa, a winding residential street just southwest of King St. and Townline Rd.

The officers tried to stop the Porsche, but they report the car took off at high speed to evade them. Rather than chase the Porsche on the road, the officers called in the Air1 police helicopter.

Air1 kept a close watch on the Porsche and pursued it through Oshawa, Whitby and into Ajax. Video of the chase picks up after the Porsche had already made its way to Whitby.

The Porsche is seen racing down Lake Ridge and Range Rds, down by the lakeshore. The driver tried to turn onto Range Rd. but was travelling too fast and almost ran into the ditch.

Eventually, the driver managed the turn heading west on Range Rd. reaching speeds over 150 km/h. The speed tracker on the chopper clocked the Porsche at around 133 km/h as it approached Ashbury Blvd. and Hoile Dr. just over the border into Ajax.

As the Porsche reached the suburban intersection, it hit a cement barrier and flipped across Hollie Dr into a yard. The crash prompted a “woah” from the officer in Air1.

“He just crashed. Hoile Dr,” the officer reported, “Went off the road northbound almost into the house…flipped over. Get ahold of EMS and fire.”

An officer on the ground pulled up behind the crash site and ran from his cruiser up to the flipped Porsche. When he reached the wreckage the officer pulled a weapon. He was soon joined by numerous other officers as the video cuts out.

The driver was arrested and taken to hospital with minor injuries. Isaac Stafford, 24 of Ajax, is charged with several offences including;

  • two counts of failure to stop for police
  • two counts of dangerous driving
  • obstruction of a peace officer
  • four counts of failure to comply with a release order
  • speeding and stunt driving
  • failure to properly wear a seat belt, and
  • unlawful possession of oxycodone

He remains in custody until a bail hearing.

 

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