A star London Knights defenceman is facing several charges, including drunk driving, after police say officers found a running, unoccupied vehicle that appeared to have been involved in a crash.
London police responded to a single-vehicle collision near Colonel Talbot Road and Clayton Walk, in southwest London’s Lambeth area, at about 3:20 a.m. on Saturday, police said in a statement issued on Sunday afternoon.
Officers arrived and found an unoccupied, running vehicle with blood on the driver’s side door and leading away from the vehicle, police said. Officers arrested a person at a nearby address, police said. One of the passengers was taken to hospital with minor injuries, police said.
Cameron Allen, 20, is charged with impaired driving, impaired operation exceeding legal blood-alcohol levels, failing to remain at the scene of a crash, failing to report an accident and having a blood-alcohol concentration above zero as a novice driver.
Allen is expected to appear in court on March 6 in relation to the charges.
“The team takes this matter very seriously and are in the process of gathering all relevant information,” Knights officials said in a statement issued Sunday evening. “We have been in contact with the OHL and will handle this in accordance with both league and team conduct policies. Disciplinary action will be determined by the OHL.”
The statement added that “Cam takes this matter very seriously and has assured us that he will fully cooperate with the court process. Cam understands the responsibility that comes with being a member of this organization and a representative of our community.”
The Toronto-born Allen was selected No. 3 overall by Guelph in the 2021 OHL draft and was named the league’s 2021-22 rookie of the year. He was a fifth-round pick of the NHL’s Washington Capitals in 2023. He was acquired by the Knights in December, a significant trade with Guelph that helped underscore how serious London is in their pursuit of a second straight Memorial Cup berth.
The trade paid dividends immediately, with Allen scoring three points in his debut for the Knights. He has hardly slowed down offensively, recording 17 points in 18 games so far with London.
In a post-trade interview, Allen told The Free Press he didn’t think much of the Knights while playing for rival Guelph – but that changed as he mulled a possible trade to London.
“If you asked me a year ago if I was going to be a London Knight, I would have told you no, probably,” he said. “As the trade talks went on (the past few weeks) and I was evaluating what team I would best fit in with, I thought London was an extremely high-class organization and a place I wanted to be.”