Two people were injured in a crash involving an SUV and two police cruisers that closed the westbound Highway 401 just west of London overnight Sunday.

The crash occurred around 8 p.m. Sunday, just west of the 401-402 split, after police say they had already made several attempts to stop a fleeing Chevrolet SUV.

Middlesex County OPP say they were assisting the Waterloo Regional Police Service in locating a vehicle allegedly involved in an abduction attempt in Cambridge, Ont. when the vehicle became involved in the collision.

The SUV struck two police cruisers before hitting the median wall, crossing the westbound lanes, entering the ditch and rolling, finally coming to rest upright.

The 38-year-old driver, a man from Cambridge, Ont. then allegedly attempted to flee on foot before he was apprehended. He was transported to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The man's one-year-old daughter was ejected from the vehicle. She was treated in hospital for non-life threatening injuries before being released.

As a result of the crash the 401 westbound was closed overnight from Highway 402 to Colonel Talbot Road for the police investigation, but has since re-opened.

The driver has subsequently been charged with:

  • two counts of assault with a weapon
  • resisting a peace officer
  • two counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle
  • flight while pursued by a peace officer
  • abandoning a child
  • dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing bodily harm
  • driving while under suspension
  • driving while a passenger under 16 fails to occupy a position with a seatbelt

He was scheduled to appear in a London court on Monday.