Burnaby RCMP arrest suspected drunk driver with two ‘young children’ in vehicle

Burnaby RCMP are hailing the efforts of a Good Samaritan, after they helped officers catch a suspected drunk driver with two kids in his vehicle.

According to police, the alert motorist had spotted a pickup truck driving erratically on Highway 1 on Jan. 2, and followed them from Langley all the way to Burnaby.

In Burnaby, police say the citizen saw the truck drive into a ditch near Cariboo Road and Gaglardi Way, then pull out and keep going. The Good Samaritan called 911, and continued to follow the driver, police said.

Not long thereafter, the truck driver, a 44-year-old Ladysmith man, was allegedly involved in a rear-ender near Eastlake Drive and Beaverbrook Drive.

Burnaby RCMP Community Response Team (CRT) officers who were nearby attended the scene, and the Samaritan, who was still nearby, helped identify the suspect driver, according to police.

But police say the truck driver got back in his vehicle and drove off again.

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He eventually stopped in a nearby cul-de-sac where he was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving by the CRT officers.

“Along with an alert citizen, our officers were able to prevent a collision that could potentially have had unthinkable consequences,” said Cpl. Mike Kalanj with Burnaby RCMP.

“We are very thankful to the citizen who did not try to get involved or stop the vehicle himself but instead ensured that we had accurate information on where the vehicle was going.”

Police are not saying how old the two kids in the truck were, other than to say they were “young children.”

Investigators said the children were cared for by the CRT officers and the RCMP’s Victim Services Unit until they were picked up by another family member.

Mounties are recommending charges of impaired driving, driving while under a suspension and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle.