A 23-year-old man from Guelph is facing numerous charges after two separate crashes involving stolen vehicles, including one incident that occurred just hours after his release from custody.
The first case unfolded shortly after 3 p.m. Wednesday when officers responded to a single-vehicle collision on Stevenson Road North. A Honda Odyssey had reportedly left the roadway and struck a tree. Police later determined the van had been stolen earlier that day from the city’s south end.
Investigators learned a witness had driven the suspect to a downtown location. Officers located and arrested the man around 4 p.m. He was charged with possessing stolen property over $5,000, being in a vehicle without the owner’s consent, driving while prohibited and breaching probation. He was subsequently released with a future court date.
About two hours later, at approximately 11:35 p.m., police were called to another stolen vehicle incident, this time involving a Toyota taken from Macdonell Street. The car had been left running outside a business when its owner noticed a man and woman entering it. When the owner attempted to intervene, the driver allegedly reversed into a bus and nearly struck him before fleeing.
The vehicle was recovered outside Guelph the following morning, and both suspects were arrested. The same man taken into custody earlier in the day now faces additional charges, including motor vehicle theft, dangerous driving and failing to remain at the scene of a collision.