Ontario's police watchdog has cleared an Essex County OPP officer in the death of a Harrow woman.
Ontario's Special Investigations Unit was called in after a 19-year-old woman was hit and killed by an OPP patrol vehicle.
On the morning of November 2, 2025, an officer was travelling west on County Road 20 East en route to the OPP detachment in Essex near Iler Road.
The SIU investigation found a woman moved out onto the westbound lane from the northside ditch, and while the officer steered his cruiser to the right, he was unable to avoid contact, and the front of his vehicle struck the woman.
The officer stopped and administered emergency first aid to the 19-year-old woman, later identified as Mendy Goossen, who was transported to the hospital where she was pronounced deceased.
SIU Director Joseph Martino determined there were no reasonable grounds to believe that the officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the woman's death.
The SIU is an independent authority responsible for investigating the conduct of officials, such as police, that resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault, or the discharge of a weapon at another person.