Vancouver Police are investigating after an allegedly impaired driver experiencing an overdose crashed into a marked police car Friday morning.
The incident happened on Main Street and East Hastings at around 5:30 a.m. when a police car was hit from behind by a pickup truck.
Police said the officer approached the truck’s driver and asked him to get out of the vehicle, and put him in handcuffs.
The man then began to lose consciousness, police said. CPR was performed while another officer searched nearby for naloxone. The driver was given four doses of the opioid antidote while a second passenger in the vehicle, also overdosing, was given two doses.
Both men recovered from the overdoses, but would not accept any more treatment from paramedics and refused to be taken to hospital.
At that point, police said, the driver, a 24-year-old from Maple Ridge, began experiencing chest pains and was rushed to the hospital. The passenger left the scene.
The Maple Ridge man is now facing charges of impaired driving and driving while prohibited and a 30-day vehicle impoundment.
This comes just over a week after another man had a possible opioid overdose behind the wheel in the Downtown Eastside.
WATCH: December set another record in B.C., 142 overdose deaths up from 128 in November. Legislative bureau chief Keith Baldrey has a closer look at how quickly the problem is escalating.
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