Officer dies after violent traffic stop

NEWMARKET, Ontario, June 28 (UPI) -- A Toronto-area police officer died early Tuesday after being dragged when he stopped an unlicensed 15-year-old male driver, police said.

Constable Garrett Styles, 32, stopped a Dodge minivan with four teenaged occupants around 5 a.m. near Newmarket in York Region, some 40 miles northeast of Toronto, York Police Chief Eric Jolliffe told a news conference.

The chief said the driver suddenly accelerated as Styles was reaching inside the van, dragging him more than 300 yards onto a grassy area, where the van flipped and pinned the officer.

Styles was able to radio for help and was taken to a hospital, where he died around 6 a.m., the chief said.

The teenaged driver of the van was hospitalized in serious condition, Jolliffe said.

Charges weren't immediately announced, although the chief said the other three teenagers in the van were being cooperative.

Styles was a 7-year veteran of the force and is survived by his wife, a civilian employee of the force, a 2 1/2year-old daughter and a 9-week-old son.

His father retired from the same police force in January after 33 years on the job. Styles would have turned 33 on Sunday, the chief said.