SIU investigating death of man struck by pickup truck after traffic stop

The province's police watchdog is investigating after a man in his 30s was fatally struck by a pickup truck following a traffic stop on Highway 115 in Clarington, just east of Oshawa.

It happened after Durham Regional Police officers spotted a vehicle that they had been trying to locate, the Special Investigations Unit said in a media release Tuesday evening.

The officers stopped the vehicle going northbound on Highway 115, north of Taunton Road, before an "interaction" took place between the man and one of the officers, according to the agency.

The man, who is described as an occupant of the vehicle, then reportedly ran across the northbound lanes. He then crossed into the southbound lanes where he was hit.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Five investigators and two forensic investigators have been assigned to the probe, the SIU says.

According to a release from Durham police, officers had been looking for the vehicle after they were called for an alleged shoplifting incident at a Home Depot on Harmony Road North and Taunton Road.

Two male suspects were identified in connection with the theft of some power tools, and drove away from the store "at a high rate of speed," the force said in the release.

Officers caught up with the vehicle on Taunton Road as it approached Highway 115.

The SIU asks that anyone with information contact the lead investigator in the case at 1-800-787-8529.

The SIU is an arm's-length agency called to investigate when police officers are involved in an incident where a person has been seriously injured, has died or if there are allegations of sexual assault.