A suspected impaired driver caused a chain reaction crash when he slammed into the back of an RCMP vehicle in Nanaimo.
The incident happened on Hammond Bay Road, near Williamson Road, on Saturday, Nov. 23, at about 4 p.m., after an RCMP officer had pulled over another vehicle for speeding.
According to a Nanaimo RCMP press release, the officer was in his vehicle with his emergency lights flashing when his vehicle was struck from behind by an SUV travelling southbound on Hammond Bay Road. The force of the impact propelled the police vehicle into the back of the vehicle the officer had pulled over and the SUV rolled over and came to a stop upside-down in the middle of the road.
The officer, who wasn't injured in the collision, checked on the other two drivers to find neither of them had sustained injuries either.
Nanaimo Fire Rescue and B.C. Ambulance Service were called to the scene, along with other RCMP officers who took over the crash investigation. The driver of the SUV allegedly displayed symptom of drug impairment and was arrested for impaired driving and taken to the Nanaimo RCMP detachment for further investigation.
The vehicles involved sustained significant damage and were towed from the scene, and the section of Hammond Bay Road was closed for a considerable amount of time. The impaired driving investigation is continuing, the release noted.
“The officer involved reflected on his close encounter and considers himself fortunate to have avoided serious injury," said reserve Const. Gary O'Brien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesperson, in the release. "He also believes that impaired drivers, through their selfish actions, continue to pose a significant threat to all communities.”
Anyone who suspects a driver is impaired should call 911 and provide the vehicle's licence plate number, a description of the vehicle and its last known direction of travel.
