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Nine new Ford Canada vehicles that were allegedly raced down Trafalgar Road this morning will not be shipped to Ford dealerships, says a Ford Canada official.

The auto giant weighed in on the early morning incident that saw the nine vehicles allegedly exceed the posted speed limit by nearly 70 km/hr as they were moved from a storage lot in Milton by a third party company- destined for the Ford plant in Oakville.

Halton police said they received a number of calls about a group of vehicles speeding and appearing to be racing along Trafalgar Road.

Officers set up radar in the area of Trafalgar Road and McCraney Street and, a short time later, nine vehicles travelling southbound approached in a tight pack at speeds allegedly ranging from 120 to 127 km/hr in a posted 60 km/hr zone.

Police stopped all nine vehicles on Trafalgar Road and have charged the drivers with racing under the Highway Traffic Act.

They will appear in a Burlington Court on May 13.

“Certainly we are very concerned about the incident and we want to sincerely thank the Halton police service for their quick response,” said Lauren More, vice-president of public affairs at Ford Canada.

“As you can imagine, the safety of our community is our top priority.”

More said Ford wants to reassure its customers that the vehicles involved won’t be shipped to dealerships and will be replaced.

She also said Ford will no longer be working with the third party company, identified by Ford as FAC Transport, which employed the drivers of the vehicles.

FAC Transport had been sub-contracted by another company, Hansen’s, which does transport work for Ford.

“We have confirmation from Hansen’s that obviously the relationship with FAC has ended and these drivers have been let go,” said More.

The nine vehicles involved were Crossover SUVs, mostly Edges and a few MKXs.

A 26-year-old man from Brampton, a 24-year-old man from Brampton, a 36-year-old Whitby man, a 28-year-old Oshawa man, a 42-year-old man from Ajax, a 27-year-old woman from Bobcaygeon, a 52-year-old man from Whitby, a 25-year-old man from Scarborough and a 26-year-old man from Toronto have all been charged in connection with this incident.

Police would not provide the names of the accused stating they have not been charged criminally, but rather under the Highway Traffic Act.

Related Story: Nine charged with racing in Oakville

