Two men were arrested in relation to separate impaired driving incidents in Saanich on the weekend, with one injuring a responding officer as both attempted to flee their respective scenes.
On Friday (June 9), a BC Highway Patrol officer stopped a vehicle in the 4,000-block of Cedar Hill Cross Road to check the sobriety of the driver.
A Saanich police officer watching the stop said as the patrol officer presented an alcohol screening device, the driver started his vehicle and accelerated away – pulling and then knocking the officer to the ground in the process. After ensuring the highway patroller’s injuries weren’t life-threatening, the Saanich officer followed the driver.
Police said the driver stopped on a dead-end street and ran into a park where officers were unable to find the man. The driver had given his licence to the highway officer during the stop and the police used that to learn the man’s address.
Police then went to the home and arrested the man. The 33-year-old faces recommended charges of assaulting a police officer with a weapon, operation of a motor vehicle while impaired, flight from police, dangerous operation of a vehicle causing bodily harm, failure to remain at the scene of a collision and failure to provide a breath sample.
The highway patrol officer was treated at the scene and is expected to make a full recovery.
The next night, a Saanich officer stopped the driver of a pickup truck in the 900-block of Nicholson Street for a sobriety check around 10 p.m.
A woman driving the vehicle failed a roadside breath test before police said the truck’s owner, who was sitting in the passenger seat, became upset after hearing the vehicle would be impounded for 30 days. The owner then ran to the driver’s seat and sped off towards Quadra, police said.
After following the man, police said an officer saw that the truck had crashed into a tree and a fence, while the driver was seen running away into a neighbouring yard.
The man was found by police in the backyard of a Nicholson Street home and arrested him. The man also blew well over the legal limit during a breath test at police headquarters. The 30-year-old faces recommended charges of impaired operation of a motor vehicle, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and flight from police.
The woman initially driving the truck received a 90-day driving prohibition. The truck, likely damaged beyond repair, was impounded for 30 days.
READ: ‘Cracked pavement’: Esquimalt residents evacuated after excavation collapse
