Oak Bay officer stops Oak Bay stolen car in Saanich before owner knew it was gone

An Oak Bay officer on the regional Integrated Road Safety Unit snagged a local stolen car before it was even noticed last night.

The Oak Bay officer stopped a car out by Elk Lake in Saanich.

“The driver was impaired and our member discovered that the vehicle had been stolen from Oak Bay,” said Oak Bay Deputy Chief Ray Bernoties. “When the member contacted the owner, he was unaware that his vehicle had been stolen.”

OB cop on Integrated Traffic Unit stopped car by Elk Lk. Car was stolen...from #oakbay! Driver charged/car recovered...b4 even being rpt'ed😀 pic.twitter.com/mD0bBeXr0k

— Oak Bay Police (@OakBayPolice) September 12, 2017

Police say the vehicle had extensive damage as the driver collided with a pole prior to the police stop. They’re recommending numerous charges including impaired operation and possession of stolen property over $5,000.

“We don’t have many vehicles stolen from Oak Bay so its quite a coincidence that one of our own officers would come across it in another area,” Bernoties said. “It’s also nice that he was able to do this before the owner had even noticed it gone. Most importantly, in this case, our officer may have saved lives as the driver was clearly in no condition to drive a vehicle.”

@OakBayNews
cvanreeuwyk@oakbaynews.com
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