Stolen trucks abandoned after one rams OPP cruiser

(Newswatch Group/File)

LANCASTER – Ontario Provincial Police say they have recovered two stolen pickup trucks left abandoned after one rammed an OPP cruiser on Highway 401 Sunday.

“They are both believed to be connected to the ongoing investigation that sent one officer to the hospital,” the force said Sunday night.

Earlier in the day, an SD&G OPP officer was flown to an Ottawa hospital by Ornge air ambulance with serious injuries after trying to stop one of the stolen pickups.

Police say the officer tried to pull over the truck around 9 a.m. when the driver rammed the cruiser in the eastbound lanes of the freeway near the Lancaster off-ramp.

The force of the crash sent the cruiser rolling into a ditch where it struck a culvert.

East Region OPP Acting Sgt. Erin Cranton told Cornwall Newswatch the officer was alert and talking and was hopeful the injuries were not as serious as first thought.

The officer has not been identified.

They were released from hospital as of this afternoon.

Police are also looking to speak to locate a late model grey Hyundai Elantra with Quebec licence plates that was in the area when the pickup rammed the cruiser.