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Update: Car crashes into Shuswap bank after driver falls asleep

The Chase RBC was struck by a car on Sept. 30, the same building damaged by fire on Aug. 12
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A vehicle crashed into the Chase RBC branch on Sept. 30, the same building damaged by fire in August. (Ben Rosset/Facebook)

It has been a hard few weeks for the Chase branch of the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC).

According to Chase RCMP, a dark-coloured sedan crashed into the Chase RBC after the driver fell asleep behind the wheel at approximately 7:40 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 30. This comes on the heels of a fire that damaged the building extensively on Aug. 12.

Related:Shuswap bank destroyed by fire

Sgt. Barry Kennedy said the male driver nodded off at the wheel and smashed through the temporary plywood wall securing what was once the burned bank’s front entrance at 746 Shuswap Ave. The driver was not impaired.

No one was hurt in the accident, as the building was unoccupied. The bank is not open for business because of fire damage.

Kennedy said the driver of the car was charged under the Motor Vehicle Act for driving on the sidewalk.

Regarding the fire, Chase police were looking for a grey or silver hatchback, similar in style to a newer-model Honda Civic, that was captured on security cameras leaving the area immediately after the fire began. The blaze began in the ATM vestibule and spread throughout the first floor of the building. No one has been charged yet.


@SalmonArm
jim.elliot@saobserver.net

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Chase Fire Department mops up after extinguishing a fire at the RBC Royal Bank in Chase early Sunday morning, Aug. 12. (Rick Koch photo)


Jim Elliot

About the Author: Jim Elliot

I’m a B.C. transplant here in Whitehorse at The News telling stories about the Yukon's people, environment, and culture.
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