Speed not a factor

An eyewitness to the aftermath of Sunday night’s deadly crash says in his opinion, police did the right thing.

Arnie Procyshen, who lives on Northern Avenue directly across from the Golf Dome parking lot, said police were on scene in a hurry, but were not involved in any kind of high-speed pursuit.

Procycshen said he was in his house when he heard the crash, which claimed the life of a yet-to-be-identified 67-year-old man.
“I looked out the window, down to the east, and spotted a vehicle that had hit a telephone pole,” he said.

“I slowly proceeded to my front door to have a look out there and the police car came down the street. He wasn’t moving too fast. He was probably moving at about 60 kilometres an hour. That was probably well over a minute from the time the accident took place.”

According to the provincial special investigations unit, which has taken over the case from local police, a Thunder Bay police officer was tailing a truck that had been reported stolen on Sunday night. When the officer, in the area of Victoria Avenue, flashed his overhead lights, the driver of the truck did not stop.

Minutes later the crash occurred on Northern Avenue.

“The way I saw it, there were no other vehicles on the street when the accident took place and in my opinion, I don’t think they were in hot pursuit of that vehicle at all,” said Proscyshen, who also said he was interviewed by the Police Services Board on Monday night.

“I was in a bathrobe when I got out the door and the officers pulled up and the suspect was out of the vehicle. The two officers chased after the suspect and apprehended the suspect. I saw the arrest go down. There were a few hedges covering what was going on.”

Twenty-year-old Shane Lawrence Kolody was taken into custody by police and charged with criminal negligence causing death and possession of stolen property over $5,000. He remained in custody on Monday.

SIU has dispatched three investigators and three forensic investigators to the scene and is looking for witnesses who may have seen the incident. Witnesses are being asked to phone the lead investigator at 1-800-787-8529, ext. 1872.

The victim, driving a silver sedan, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The investigation continues.