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2.- "WEEKEND STAR" FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2001 One NING SOON ieledelei pX IGT) 9. © TUT A RAN [3 Te [oYoY lll ed ile T ol LAM ale Tl 1 [£42 YOU WON'T BELIEVE IT! (J ASK US apout our \//J/, outh of Utica - i} 4 km north of Ashburn, off Ashburn Road, follow the signs de: 905.649.6212 * From WARAVR Jo1 } te Fe [qa Te fod L 905.985.8390 Port Perry: com more information coi tact the Region of Dur Special Investigations Unit retums to North Durham By Rik Davie The Star The province's Special Investigations Unit contin- ues to probe the events surrounding an accident last weekend that saw a motorcycle slam into a marked Durham Regional Police cruiser. The accident occurred late Saturday (Aug. 18) afternoon as a veteran 26 "Division officer directed traffic around a serious motor vehicle collision on Regional Rd. 23, near Scugog Line '14 on the Scugog/Uxbridge border. According to reports at the time, the road had been closed to traffic after a single vehicle roll-over in which a female driver was ejected from her vehicle and a passenger sustained minor injuries. The SIU, the provincial unit charged with investi- gating police actions that result in the death or seri- ous injury of a member of the public, were called when a motorcycle struck a _.. police cruiser that had traf- ~. fic cones in front of it and * had its hazard and emer- gency lights activated on Regional Rd. 23, south of the accident scene. SIU spokesperson Rose Hong would not confirm reports that at least two other motorcycles man- aged to stop for the cruis- er, but she did, however, tell The Star that the SIU has "had no contact so far with two civilian motorcy- clists in the area." Ms. Hong noted that the SIU investigators dis- patched to the accident scene "had got quite a lot of work done in the past few days", which included an attempt to speak with the injured motorcyclist at a Toronto hospital on Tuesday morning. "There was an attempt made to talk to him," she said, adding that the 27- year-old Toronto man still remains in hospital where he is recovering from a fractured leg and other injuries. "We haven't been able to get a formal interview with him, so we'll go back at a later date to speak with him." To date, the SIU has identified six witness offi- cers and one subject offi- cer in relation to the acci- dent.That officer, said Ms. Hong, has retained council and has been cooperative with investigators. Durham Regional Police GET Rod CRATE Ta daa Tak | for adults; accompanying 'children will be admit- SIU probe into weekend accident continues spokesperson Sgt. Paul Malik told The Star that once the SIU had begun its investigation, the Durham service would be unable to comment on the accident. The Durham Regional Police Association, which represents more than 700 employees with the police service, said through exec- utive member Constable Mark McConkey that they intend to take the matter of the mandate of the SIU to the Police Association of Ontario. "We question the rea- son for an SIU investiga- tion into this matter at all," said Const. McConkey. There is no firm time frame for the investigation, but SIU officials hope to wrap up their work in the next month or so. "We try and be very timely, so 'we have a 30- day benchmark," said Ms. Hong. "But we take as much time as we need in order to. make sure the investigation is thorough." The Durham Regional Police - Association has been highly critical of the SIU since the 1999 incident in which a Durham officer was charged in a police shooting in Sunderland. That officer and two York police constables: were acquitted of all charges in the case. Steam Threshing Days this weekend in Uxbridge The 30th ~ Annual 'Uxbridge Historical Society Steam Threshing Days are set to go at the Uxbridge-Scott Museum grounds this. weekend. On both Saturday and Sunday (Aug. 25- 26),large crowds are expected to pour onto the museum grounds where there will be steam engines on dis- play and operating as well as a great display of antique trucks and cars. - Steam, gas and oil powered engines from the past will be demon- strated, including both miniature and full-size models. The Uxbridge-Scott Museum is located on the 6th, Concession of Uxbridge, just north of Brock St. Admission is $5 ted free. a NOT ARI TNT er a