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RCMP deploy spike belt on Highway 5 to stop driver

Numerous complaints were reported driver’s behaviour to the Barriere and Kamloops RCMP
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RCMP are investigating after a group of bystanders boxed in an alleged drunk driver near Barrier on Thursday.

According to police, the group boxed in a vehicle about 1:45 a.m. on Barriere bridge on Highway 5. However, the suspect vehicle was able to drive away from the bystanders and continued south on the Highway.

RCMP officers responded to the area and while on route they received additional updated reports from several truckers and motorists that the suspect driver was driving in the opposite lane and swerving all over the road.

Police attempted a traffic stop, however the vehicle failed to stop, turned around, and was blocked by bystander semi-trucks. The vehicle then changed directions again and struck the marked police vehicle twice at a slow speed and continued on.

Another officer on the scene deployed a spike belt and partially disabled the car, however the vehicle continued southbound at very low speed. The driver then struck a second unoccupied police vehicle.

As a precautionary measure, northbound traffic to the south of the location was stopped by police.

A Kamloops Police Dog Service unit also attended the area, and deployed a second spike belt, deflating the remaining tires on the vehicle.

However the driver continued driving the vehicle at low speeds on its flat tires and was approaching the stopped traffic, forcing the police to box the vehicle in, which finally brought it to a stop.

The driver, a 25-year-old man of no fixed address, refused to exit the vehicle and had to be removed from the vehicle by police, and taken into custody without further incident.

The investigation revealed that alcohol or drugs were not contributing factors in the man’s behaviour, and once assessed medically it was determined that the man may have been suffering from a mental health disorder.

A number of criminal code charges are being proposed to Crown Counsel in relation to this incident.

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