Police say a Kelowna man is facing impaired driving charges after a hit-and-run collision on Wednesday evening.
According to Kelowna RCMP, emergency crews were needed after two consecutive and related motor-vehicle collisions along Harvey Avenue yesterday. At approximately 6:30 p.m., a blue Dodge Calibre heading north on Gordon Drive was struck at the intersection of Harvey and Gordon by a southbound silver Toyota Corolla.
“The driver of the Toyota sedan allegedly failed to stop or remain at the scene of the crash and fled eastbound along Harvey Avenue,” said Kelowna RCMP Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey. “A short distance away, the already damaged hit-and-run suspect vehicle veered into the centre median of the highway and further collided with a tree, before it came to final rest in the centre lane of the eastbound lanes.”
The Toyota Corolla was so damaged that the 47-year-old driver, and sole occupant, couldn’t exit his vehicle and had to be extracted by the Kelowna Fire Department.
“During their interaction with the driver at the scene, specially trained investigators of the RCMP detected symptoms of suspected drug impairment. As a result, a demand was made which required the driver to submit to a drug recognition expert (DRE) evaluation,” saidO’Donaghey.
Police say the driver was later released from custody and is now facing a nmber of criminal charges, including impaired driving.
Regarding the Dodge Caliber, police say the driver and passenger sustained minor, non-life threatening injuries and were medically assessed by emergency paramedics. The driver was later transported to hospital as a pre-caution.
Police are also asking citizens to contact the Kelowna RCMP municipal traffic section at 250-762-3300 if they witnessed the crash.