A police investigation that started in Penticton culminated with the arrest of two people on the William R. Bennett bridge in Kelowna Thursday morning.
Jorj Hyde says he was driving north on Highway 97 when he was stopped at a RCMP blockade near the Gorman Bros. Sawmill in West Kelowna.
Moments later, a speeding car barely squeezed between a parked RCMP vehicle and the roadside concrete barrier.
WATCH BELOW: Exclusive footage of police pursuit caught on citizen dash cam where suspect rams police vehicle in West Kelowna.
“There was a zip and bang,” says Hyde. “It happened in a half a second. I went from what’s going on to wow!”
The suspect car damaged the police cruiser and continued north at high speed, startling the two officers, one of whom chased the suspect.
“It’s almost unbelievable. It feels almost like watching a movie it happened so quick,” says Hyde.
A short time later, police managed to stop the suspect car on the floating bridge and take the two people into custody.
Another police car, and at least two civilian vehicles, were damaged on the bridge.
The two eastbound lanes were shut down for almost an hour.
“We very much appreciate the public’s patience when it comes to situations such as this,” said Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey in a news release. “Making sure no one gets hurt is always our top goal and that’s why we’re very pleased to have resources such as Air Services and police dogs to help us quickly conclude these type of situations.”
RCMP say they tried to pull over the suspect vehicle earlier in Penticton, describing it as suspicious without saying why, but the driver sped away.