A 26-year-old Kelowna man faces numerous charges, including impaired driving, after being arrested at the scene of a serious single-vehicle crash on Saturday.
“The attending officers noticed straight away that live power lines were lying across the road and posed an immediate risk to the driver who was still in the vehicle,” Kelowna RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Jocelyn Noseworthy said.
A witness at the scene urged others approaching the accident to be aware of the downed power lines in the 200 block of Valley Road, near where it changes to Sexsmith Road.
“All I saw was the car coming around the corner really fast,” said a man who wouldn’t give his name to Global News. “He spun out and then hit the telephone pole… caught air and did a 360 and then continued to try and drive away after the crash.”
Despite demands to stay in place from RCMP, who used a megaphone to communicate from a distance, the man continuously attempted to exit his vehicle.
FortisBC crews were brought in to deactivate the lines and remove them from the crash scene.
“He’s already been in a couple of accidents already up the road so he’s clearly trying to get away from something,” the witness told Global News.
“While officers were dealing with this life-threatening situation, numerous witnesses came forward to report that this vehicle had been driving in a dangerous manner prior to the collision – speeding and passing unsafely,” Noseworthy said.
While a FortisBC lineman walked closer to the car and the downed lines, the suspect noticed and exited his vehicle. He then made unsuccessful attempts to get back in on the urging of RCMP. The car door appeared to be locked.
As RCMP demanded he walk toward them away from the power lines, the suspect ignored their direction, prompting an officer to jump in and take him to the ground for handcuffing.
“This driver is extremely fortunate that his actions didn’t result in the death of himself or someone else,” RCMP said.
The man was issued a driving prohibition under the Motor Vehicle Act, having failed a roadside screening and a breath test at the RCMP detachment.
He was released from custody to appear in court on June 18, where he is expected to face several charges.