DRIVER FOUND IN GRAVENHURST POLICE HIT-RUN

GRAVENHURST — The Orillia driver who fled a police hit-and-run here Tuesday was found and charged yesterday with assaulting a peace officer with a weapon among other driving offences.

Provincial police say that just after 3 p.m. Aug. 4 an officer with the Highway Safety Division (HSD) Traffic Incident Management and Enforcement (TIME) team stopped car on Ferguson Road in Gravenhurst.

As the officer was approaching the car on foot, they claim two passengers jumped out and ran off and the vehicle sped away, and in doing so struck the officer, who was still able to follow the vehicle down Campfire Point Road and found that auto with two passengers remaining.

But the driver had fled on foot and couldn’t be found by the OPP canine unit and Emergency Response Team.

On Thursday Joshua Thompson, 43, was arrested in Ramada Township.

He is charged with along with several Highway Traffic Act offences:

Flight from Peace Officer CC 320.17

Dangerous Operation CC 320.13

Assault a Peace Officer with a Weapon CC 270.01(1)(a)

Fail to Stop After Accident 320.16(1)

Fail to Comply with Undertaking CC 145(4)(a) X 4

Operate Motor Vehicle without Insurance CAIA 2(1)(a)

Thompson is to appear in the Ontario Court of Justice in Bracebridge on August 7, 2020 for a bail hearing.