The chase and crash occurred at 7:40 p.m. on Tupper Street, just west of Church Street behind Alliston Union Public School.

New Tecumseth firefighters from the Alliston Station were called to the scene to extricate the officer from the cruiser, which sustained heavy damage to the front driver’s side in the crash.

Police said an officer was on patrol in downtown Alliston and spotted a woman who was wanted on outstanding drug-trafficking warrants. The officer followed suspect’s car without sirens, while other officers moved to set up roadblocks at other areas of town.

The woman spotted the cruiser following her, and tried to speed off. The officer then hit the sirens and gave chase. The suspect made several detours trying to evade the officer behind her, before turning east onto Tupper Street, police said.

Another cruiser was driving westbound on Tupper Street, and had not yet set up a roadblock. That officer put his cruiser in the path of the oncoming suspect to stop the car, said Nottawasaga Detachment Commander Dave Farrar.

“He was trying to block its path. The officer knew that just down the street there were children playing near the roadway. He had seen them when he went by. In order to ensure their safety, we needed to get this car stopped,” said Farrar.

The officer, Const. Bruce Redgate, sustained minor injuries and was transported to Stevenson Memorial Hospital by ambulance.

The three occupants of the suspect car were also taken to hospital with minor injuries. The two passengers,  a woman, and her young son were taken to hospital by ambulance before being released. The driver, a 30-year-old woman, was taken to hospital with minor injuries. She was later released but was immediately taken into police custody.

Bill MacKenzie lives near the crash, and said he was watching television in his living room when he heard a loud bang. He looked out the window and saw a lot of dust, and not much else.

He went outside and saw the mother and son crawl out of the car and sit on a curb, he said. He said he overheard her saying, “I told her (the driver) to stop.”

He said within minutes several police cruisers were on the scene, as well as the fire department and ambulances.

The police Special Investigations Unit was not called into investigate the incident. Several media outlets, including www.allistonherald.com, previously incorrectly reported SIU was conducting an investigation.

The SIU is normally called in for incidents involving civilian injuries.

Farrar said there was initially discussion about calling in SIU, but he made the determination that the minor injuries did not warrant an independent investigation. He said there were no broken bones, cuts or bruises, but x-rays were taken because of complaints of shoulder and back pain.

The technical traffic collision investigation unit was called in and is conducting an ongoing investigation. Farrar said the speed of the vehicles is not yet known. The force of impact was enough to activate both airbags, and write-off both cars.

Farrar said the actions of the officers were within the Suspect Apprehension Pursuits regulations of the Ontario Police Services Act. The regulations allow officers to use a cruiser to physically stop a fleeing vehicle if the officer has reasonable reason to believe it is immediately necessary to prevent loss of life or serious injuries. The regulations also state officers should continuously reassess the pursuit, and stop when the chase becomes more dangerous to the public than the suspect alone. Farrar said the chase lasted only a few moments, and was not long enough to start considering other options.

“They (officers) responded very professionally, and I will be putting in a commendation for Const. Redgate, for his actions, and putting himself at risk in protecting the public from this dangerous driver,” Farrar said.

Police are also investigating the possibility that the driver may have been on drugs at the time of the chase.

Tupper Street was closed between Paris and Church Streets until about 3 a.m.

The female driver is currently facing a number of charges including, dangerous driving causing bodily harm, failing to stop for police, breach of probation, and possession of crack cocaine.

Charged is 30-year-old Tammy Baldwin of Alliston.