OPP officer killed in motorcycle crash on Highway 401 in Cobourg, Ont.

An Ontario Provincial Police officer was killed in a motorcycle crash on Highway 401 in Cobourg, Ont., on Monday, the OPP says.

The crash involved only the motorcycle, the OPP said in a news release Monday.

The OPP say members of their Northumberland detachment were called to the highway near Burnham Street North shortly after 5:30 p.m. for reports of a single-vehicle crash.

Police said the officer was pronounced dead at the scene.

OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique, in a scrum with reporters on Monday night, identified the officer as 33-year-old Sgt. Brandon Malcolm. He was a member of the OPP’s Northumberland detachment in the OPP’s Central Region.

Carrique said Malcolm was travelling eastbound on Highway 401 at the time of the crash and was on duty. He added that police are not ruling out the possibility that another vehicle was involved, but said there is no evidence to indicate that.

“Hearts are broken, the OPP right across this province. Hearts are shattered right now,” Carrique told reporters in Cobourg on Monday night.

Malcolm, whose career goal was to be a police officer, had been an auxiliary member of the Toronto police and a member of the Canadian Armed Forces, Carrique said. In 2020, he joined the OPP.

“He was living his best life as a police officer, a very proud member of our Golden Helmets, the precision motorcycle team, a skilled motor officer, and doing an incredible job serving this province and dedicated to his community,” he said.

“I will forever grateful to him for his service. He was taken far too soon under such tragic circumstances.”

Carrique said there was a secondary crash involving other OPP officers travelling westbound on the 401. The officers collided with a vehicle driven by a motorist who had stopped to help the officer on the motorcycle.

Three OPP officers were taken to hospital as a precaution and have since been released, provincial police later confirmed in a news release. No other injuries were reported.

Highway 401 was closed overnight in both directions between Highway 28 and Burnham Street in Cobourg but has since reopened, police said in a post on X around 4:30 a.m.

On Tuesday, the OPP said they are continuing to investigate both collisions, adding that the office of the chief coroner and the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service are working with them to examine the circumstances of the fatal crash.

At the scrum Monday, Carrique thanked Cobourg police, fire and rescue, which “all came to our aid when we needed them the most.”

In a news release earlier on Monday, the OPP said: “The OPP is assisting the member’s family as they deal with this tragedy. We acknowledge the significant impact of this tragic loss and extend our thoughts to everyone affected by this devastating incident.”

Ontario premier ‘very sad’ to learn of death

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in a social media post Monday night that he was “very sad” to learn of the officer’s death.

“My thoughts are with the officer’s family and loved ones, as well as all of our brave women and men in uniform across the province who risk their lives every day to protect Ontario,” Ford said.

David Sabatini, president of the OPP Association, which has roughly 6,200 uniform and 3,600 civilian members, said the association is “heartbroken” and “devastated” by news of the death and offers “our deepest condolences” to the officer’s family, coworkers and friends.

Toronto police Chief Myron Demkiw expressed condolences to the OPP in a social media post Monday.

“We mourn alongside the friends, family and loved ones of the officer, and our colleagues at the OPP, as they grieve this loss,” Demkiw said.

Anyone with information, including video or dashboard camera footage, is being asked to contact police.