A morning commute ended up being anything but normal for one Calgary man.
“This morning when I was driving up, I was coming around a corner by the Red Deer River in Red Deer, and I knew that sometimes it’s a little slick,” Ian Burgess told Global News on Monday.
“What I wasn’t expecting was to see an SUV with no headlights on driving in the wrong lane of traffic heading right towards me.”
Burgess provided his dash cam video to Global News, showing his perspective driving north on the Queen Elizabeth II highway.
The video shows a dark SUV driving southbound in the northbound lanes, without headlights on, heading directly towards his vehicle.
Burgess said he had to veer off the road into the ditch at highway speeds to avoid being hit head-on.
As he was turning his vehicle around, Burgess saw the same dark SUV loop around and head north on Highway 2.
Burgess said it happened on Monday at around 4 a.m., near the Red Deer River.
Burgess regularly drives the QE2 from Calgary to Tofield, Alta., about once or twice a week for work but said this drive was unforgettable.
“Shaken up at the time,” he said. “My heart was definitely pounding but [I’m] really happy that there wasn’t a worse outcome.”
Burgess provided his dash cam footage to police and emergency responders immediately.
“Everyone just kept looking at the video,” Burgess said. “They couldn’t believe it. They couldn’t believe that no one was killed and that I was able to drive away from it.”
A paramedic by trade, Burgess said he is “grateful everyone is OK.”
RCMP confirmed the incident and said the SUV driver was fleeing from police in a stolen vehicle.
Police said it was a black Ford Flex believed to have been stolen from a rental car company in Calgary.
At around 7 a.m. Monday, police said they recovered the stolen vehicle abandoned in Red Deer.
Police said if you find yourself in a similar situation, move your vehicle to the right shoulder of the road. If a shoulder isn’t there, head into the ditch.
Police said they are looking for a suspect but no description is available. The investigation continues.