BARRIE -- Three officers are in the hospital, and one man is in custody after a dramatic 90 minutes of destruction through Simcoe County on Friday afternoon.
Exclusive CTV News video appears to show the suspects' white van was stopped on Dobson Road in Springwater Township when two officers slowly approached the vehicle.
Witnesses say one of the officers had a taser in his hand and opened the door to the suspects' vehicle.
It appears the door shut on the officer, trapping his hand while the suspect drove away, dragging the officer alongside the vehicle for several metres before he got free.
"You don't want to hear about a fellow officer being dragged by a vehicle," said Orillia OPP Const. Scott Williams following the event. "I understand that his injuries are minor in nature."
The incident allegedly began with a reported gas theft along Highway 11 south.
"Officers were trying to pull the vehicle over with negative results. The suspect vehicle continued up Highway 11," said Const. Williams. "On Highway 11, he was driving in an erratic manner. Multiple vehicles were struck."
"It was pretty scary," described Liama Keefe. She says she was hit while travelling along the highway. "I was driving north on Highway 11 in the righthand lane, and he just came out of nowhere and just rear-ended me. He hit so many people along the way."
A scene of debris and damaged vehicles extends through Barrie on Sunnidale and Penetanguishene roads, Georgian Drive and along Highway 11 in Oro-Medonte.
"It was shocking because you could see him run out, trail out, swirling around trying to get away," Keefe explains.
The search for the suspect ended after he crashed into a snowbank outside of the OPP General Headquarters on Highway 12 in Orillia.
Const. Williams said it took several officers to apprehend the man who was "aggressive" toward them.
Provincial police are asking for anyone involved in any of the collisions to contact them at 1-888-310-1122.
Orillia OPP is investigating.
