Transport truck driver drove straight at cruiser on Trans-Canada: police

RAW VIDEO: A truck backs into a police cruiser Monday in this video from witness Lesley Procter.

WINNIPEG – The driver who was chased from Winnipeg to Portage la Prairie, Man., drove his cube van head-on at a police cruiser on the Trans-Canada Highway, police said Tuesday.

The action was perhaps the scariest moment in an hours-long pursuit of a cube van that rammed several police cars earlier in the day, allegedly sparked when the driver received a ticket for using a cellphone while driving.

“He had no concern for his safety, and he had absolutely no concern for the safety of officers and the safety of the public,” Const. Jason Michalyshen said at a news briefing Tuesday morning.

Wayne Daniel Rennie, 24, is accused of assaulting a police officer with a weapon, resisting a peace officer, flight from a peace officer and multiple other offences.

READ MORE: Police arrest suspect after chase; truck rammed 5 cruisers

The drama started at about 8:45 a.m. Monday, when police stopped a 2007 International cube van at Emily Street and Notre Dame Avenue and issued a ticket for using a cellphone while driving. The driver objected, but eventually left, Michalyshen said.

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“I don’t think there is any ticket under the highway traffic act that would justify anyone taking these types of actions, it boggles our minds,” said Michalyshen.

At about 11:10 a.m. the same day, the same truck was driven into five police cruisers parked outside the Public Safety Building, the Winnipeg Police Service headquarters. The collisions caused about $80,000 to $100,000 damage, police said. The truck left and was tracked to the Trans-Canada highway west of Winnipeg.

“Who’s to say there was no one in those vehicles at the time,” said Michalyshen, “Was he looking to see if there was officers sitting in those cruiser cars at that time?”

WATCH: Const. Jason Michalyshen speaks to reporters Tuesday.

At about 12:15 p.m., the truck drove westward directly at a police cruiser travelling east on the Trans-Canada near the junction with Blumberg Trail in Headingley, just west of Winnipeg. The truck swerved abruptly across the median and the police officer took immediate evasive action to avoid a head-on collision, Michalyshen said.

Police tried to safely stop the truck but he continued to travel west on the Trans-Canada. Both RCMP and the Winnipeg Police Service pursued the truck until it was stopped by a spike belt just west of Portage la Prairie, Man., almost 100 kilometres west of Winnipeg.

Rennie faces charges of:

• two counts of assaulting a police officer with a weapon;
• resisting a peace officer;
• flight while pursued by a peace officer;
• dangerous operation of a motor vehicle;
• five counts of mischief over $5,000;
• failing to stop at the scene of an accident; and
• failing to comply with a probation order.

The punishment for driving while using a cellphone in Manitoba is a $200 ticket and five demerits.