Man, 21, charged with armed carjacking after fall from Gardiner Expressway, police say
Suspect suffered serious injuries in fall, SIU investigating
Toronto police say a 21-year-old man has been charged in an armed carjacking, after he fell from the Gardiner Expressway on Monday night while allegedly fleeing from officers.
The man was arrested at the scene, suffered serious injuries in the fall and was taken to hospital by paramedics. He has been charged with 10 offences and was scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday morning.
Three other suspects in the incident, which involved two stolen vehicles, a BMW X5 and a Rolls Royce, are still on the loose, Toronto police said in a news release on Wednesday.
The Monday night incident shut down the eastern Gardiner, not far from the Don Valley juncture, for hours.
Ontario's Special investigations Unit (SIU) is investigating the incident.
Incident began at Finch and Yonge, police say
Police said the incident began when they received a call around 9:35 p.m. Monday about a carjacking in the area of Finch Avenue E. and Yonge Street.
Police allege that a driver parked and got out of a vehicle while three male suspects in a stolen BMW X5 stopped nearby. Two males then got out of the BMW X5 and demanded the driver's keys. After a struggle with the driver, the suspects fled the scene in their own vehicle.
Less than two hours later, shortly after 11 p.m., police received another call about a carjacking in the area of the Shops at Don Mills near Don Mills Road and Lawrence Avenue E.
Police allege a driver parked their vehicle, a Rolls Royce, in a parking lot when four male suspects in the stolen BMW X5 stopped nearby.
Police said the three suspects got out of the stolen BMW X5, pulled out a handgun and demanded the keys. Then the three suspects drove away in the Rolls Royce with the BMW in tandem.
Officers from police's hold up squad tracked the stolen vehicles to the Gardiner with the help of officers from 32 and 33 divisions, major crime units, the canine unit, emergency task force and York Regional Police's Air2 helicopter. The vehicles were travelling eastbound.
Police recover stolen Rolls Royce, BMW X5
According to the SIU, police put a roadblock up further west on the Gardiner, which led to a suspect in the BMW stopping and running away from police.
Moments later, the SIU said the suspect fell from the Gardiner onto Lake Shore Boulevard E. below.
Toronto paramedics said they were called to lower Jarvis Street around 11:50 p.m. and took a man to hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries.
Police said he was taken into custody after a "high-risk takedown."
The stolen Rolls Royce, meanwhile, smashed through the police barricade and fled the area. It was later recovered by police. The stolen BMW was also recovered, police said.
Anyone with information is urged to come forward to police.
With files from Rochelle Raveendran