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(Updated) An OPP officer from the Niagara detachment remains in hospital with serious injuries after a freak accident during training this morning.
The officer has been identified as Constable Pete Tucker. He was taking part in a training exercise near Barrie when his bike struck a goose and he crashed.
The accident took place shortly before 9:30 this morning at Highway 400 and Highway 11. Tucker, a member of the Golden Helmets Motorcycle Precision Team, was riding his bike alongside 14 others taking part in a VIP escort training exercise.
The mock escort was travelling southbound on Highway 11 when the goose in mid-flight collided with Tucker. The OPP say it’s likely the goose hit the motocycle’s windshield which was broken off the police bike. Tucker was airlifted to Sunnybrook Hospital with injuries to his legs that the OPP are describing as “life-altering.”
A section of Highway 11 was closed for several hours but has since re-opened. The goose was found dead about 150 metres from the crash and did not hit any of the other officers’ on motorcycles.
The OPP say the one silver lining to this incident is that because it happened during a training exercise. The roads were closed off to normal traffic and there were no other vehicles on the highway. Constable Tucker is a veteran of the force in the highway division and has extensive experience riding motorcylces. He remains in critical condition at this time.
