On Friday, a dash cam video of a white Ford van marked with the logo of Canadian contracting company Black & McDonald was uploaded to YouTube by user Saif Khan.
The 45-second clip — captured with the rearview dash cam of another car — shows the van driver changing direction as he drives so he can plow through large puddles — in the process, soaking three sets of pedestrians. Almost a million people have viewed the video since it was uploaded.
On Sunday, Black & McDonald issued a statement apologizing about the incident. "We apologize to everyone impacted by the recent incident in Ottawa of unacceptable driving by one of our van drivers," the contractor wrote on Facebook. "We want to reassure the public that safety is our #1 priority. This is an isolated incident, and the individual is no longer employed with Black & McDonald."
The driver's identity has not been revealed, and it is unclear who was driving the vehicle with the dash cam.
Black & McDonald spokesman Tareq Ali also told the Ottawa Sun this weekend that the splash-happy van isn't representative of the company or its drivers.
"This is an isolated incident. We have a very good record, and public safety is our number one priority. This is very unfortunate, and we want to apologize to the public," Ali noted.
In a tweet on Sunday, Ottawa Police Service Sergeant Mark Gatien also confirmed that the company had "terminated" the driver.
"Update on the Van Splashing Incident. I would like to thank Black & MacDonald [sic] Ottawa Div. for their quick and decisive action in this matter. The driver of this van has been terminated from the company. I would also like to thank a patrol Officer who assisted in this outcome," Gatien tweeted.
— Sgt Mark Gatien (@gatienmc) July 29, 2018
On Sunday, Gatien also told the Ottawa Sun that the driver could face assault charges for endangering pedestrians by veering close to the curb and splashing them with water.
