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Woman killed following crash with driver fleeing from traffic stop, suspect in custody: Winnipeg police

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WINNIPEG -

A woman has died after her car was struck by a driver allegedly fleeing from police from a traffic stop on Monday.

The incident will now be investigated by Manitoba’s police watchdog.

At noon on Monday, Winnipeg police conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle that was driving east on Provencher Boulevard.

Police said the driver sped off from the traffic stop at a high speed. The driver eventually lost control and the vehicle mounted a concrete median and hit a vehicle travelling west.

The driver of the other vehicle, an adult woman, died from her injuries. She was the only person in the vehicle at the time.

A swarm of police cruisers and ambulances were on the scene at Provencher Boulevard on Monday, as crowds of people gathered in the aftermath of the violent crash.

"People were starting to come out of the buildings and see what was happening, but cops were flying all over along Archibald there," said Ryan Punton, who witnessed the aftermath of the crash. "It was pretty chaotic."

Matt Yaworsky, who works near the area, said the police worked to cover the scene.

"(They) told people to step away, because there was quite a bit of debris," he said. "It was kind of crazy to think that something like that could have happened on a noon on a Monday. You never really know, but I guess just seeing the car smashed and flipped over was something crazy to see."

Police said the suspect left his vehicle following the crash and tried to run away, but he was taken into police custody.

James Joseph Wieler, 31, was charged with dangerous operation of a conveyance causing death, operation of a conveyance causing death while impaired, flight while being pursued by a peace officer, and operation of a conveyance while prohibited.

Wieler was detained in custody and the charges have not been proven in court.

The Winnipeg Police Service said the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba (IIU) has been informed and will take responsibility for the investigation.

The IIU said it is mandated to investigate all incidents involving police and a fatality.

Anyone with information or video footage that may help investigators is asked to contact the IIU at 1-844-667-6060. 

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