A driver was arrested after his alleged dangerous driving caused a crash near Nanaimo Airport over the long weekend.
The incident happened on Saturday, Aug. 2, at about 7 p.m., according to a police press release. Both Ladysmith RCMP and Nanaimo RCMP responded to reports of a head-on collision on the Trans-Canada Highway at the intersection with Timberlands Road.
Just before the crash, Nanaimo RCMP had received multiple calls related to a Dodge pickup that was reportedly "driving aggressively, speeding, hitting other vehicles, and running red lights along the highway." Witnesses at the scene of the crash told investigators that the pickup driver ran a red light at the Timberlands intersection "at a high rate of speed" and collided with a Nissan sedan. The truck continued travelling south in the northbound lane until it struck the highway median.
"The male driver, the sole occupant of the truck, fled the scene but was quickly apprehended by police," the release added.
Both occupants of the car were transported to the hospital by B.C. Emergency Health Services paramedics.
Police are interested in following up on reports of dangerous driving in the 10-20 minutes before the crash. The pickup truck driver may have been swerved onto sidewalks and run red lights along Bowen Road, Wakesiah Avenue, Bruce Street, Tenth Street, and the Trans-Canada Highway, and been involved in a crash on the highway south of the Morden Road intersection.
Residents on Wakesiah, Bruce, and Tenth are asked to review their doorbell and dash cam footage for any recordings of the pickup between 6:40-6:50 p.m. that evening.
Anyone with information is asked to call the RCMP's non-emergency line at 250-754-2345 and reference file No. 2025-24326.
