Ontario's police watchdog has cleared a Toronto police officer of wrongdoing after he collided with a cyclist last year.

The crash happened just before midnight on Kennedy Road near Merrian Road on July 25, 2016. The officer was driving a marked cruiser northbound through the intersection when he collided with a 39-year-old cyclist heading west.

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) determined the cyclist ran a red light, resulting in the crash. He was rushed to hospital with critical injuries, where he was later diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury, multiple rib fractures and a broken nose.

The SIU found the officer stopped the cruiser immediately following the collision and called for an ambulance. Toronto police notified the SIU two hours after the crash.

SIU investigating after a cyclist was struck by a TPS cruiser on Kennedy Rd in Scarborough late last night. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/biketo?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#biketo</a> <a href="https://t.co/YjmF63LyUk">pic.twitter.com/YjmF63LyUk</a> —@LateNightCam

The cruiser was equipped with a dashboard camera, which captured the entire incident.

In his report, SIU director Tony Loparco did note the officer was not completely without fault. The officer recalled looking at a parking lot on his left while driving through the intersection instead of the road ahead, and was travelling at speeds ranging between 76 and 84 km/h at the time of the crash.

The speed limit on Kennedy Road was 50 km/h.

Still, Loparco wrote: "I do not believe that the SO's admitted lack of attention to the road ahead, as he lawfully proceeded through the intersection, combined with his slightly excessive rate of speed amount to a marked departure from the standard of care expected of a reasonable person in the circumstances."

The SIU investigates when someone is seriously hurt or killed in an interaction with police.