Impaired charges laid after van nearly hits cop car: Kingston police

Kingston police have laid impaired driving charges against a driver they say nearly hit a police car while speeding the wrong way in traffic.

Police say an officer was driving south on Division Street when a silver van came speeding towards them — heading the wrong way on a one way — just after midnight Wednesday.

They say the van continued through the intersection of Division and Princess Street against a red light, forcing the officer to take “immediate evasive maneuvers” to avoid a crash.

The van also narrowly missed pedestrians, who had to jump out of the way, police say.

Officer turned on their sirens and tried to pull over the van, but the driver refused and took off, police say.

Police later caught up with the driver after receiving a tip the van was parked along Princess Street near Barrie Street around 12:45 a.m.

A witness reported seeing the driver get out of the van and head into a nearby establishment.

Police found the driver in the business and he was arrested for dangerous driving and failing to stop for police.

Jozef Kroeg, 33, of Kingston was further charged with impaired driving after police say breath samples found he had more than one-and-a-half times the legal limit of alcohol in his system.