Two Kelowna men are facing charges after a wild police chase that ended on the Bennett Bridge Thursday morning.
READ MORE: Exclusive footage of suspect vehicle ramming RCMP cruiser
Ryan Patrick Regan, 33, and Michael Anthony Dennison, 25, had their first court appearance Friday morning.
Regan was slapped with six charges including dangerous driving, hit and run and assault with a weapon for allegedly reversing his vehicle into a police cruiser.
Dennison has been charged with four offences including dangerous driving and failing to stop for police.
RCMP have released very little information but confirm the whole ordeal started in Penticton when police pulled over a suspicious vehicle and the driver sped away.
Penticton RCMP didn’t follow the suspect car, but informed other Okanagan detachments.
RCMP in West Kelowna set up a roadblock on Highway 97 to catch the fugitives, but the driver blew past police, ramming into a cruiser in the process.
WATCH BELOW: Exclusive footage of police pursuit caught on citizen dash cam where suspect rams police vehicle in West Kelowna.
A police chase ensued, which ended about 15 kilometers away, on the Bennett Bridge. The bridge was closed for the better part of an hour while crews cleaned up the mess.
There are no concrete details about how the take-down happened, but the front tires of the suspect vehicle appeared to be blown out by a spike belt and the back window was shattered. The front of a police cruiser was also crushed and up to ten other civilian vehicles on the bridge were also damaged.
WATCH BELOW: A police pursuit that started in Penticton, ended with the Bennett Bridge in Kelowna closing for the better part of an hour. In the midst of it all, the suspect driver smashed through a police roadblock, and the dramatic crash was all caught on camera. Lauren Pullen reports.
No information on why the pair evaded police in the first place has been released.
Both men will remain in custody until their next scheduled court appearance, which is scheduled for Monday.
Further charges are expected against both men and police have issued search warrants as part of their investigation.
Civilian Hailed a Hero
Police are crediting the quick actions of a truck driver on the Bennett Bridge.
The driver saw the incident unfolding in the truck’s rear view mirror and used his rig to block both lanes of the bridge so the suspects couldn’t get away.
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