Surrey RCMP says the driver in a serious head-on collision Friday afternoon was in the midst of an overdose when the crash happened.
It happened around 4:30 p.m. near 152 Street on Highway 10 in Newton.
Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt, but responding emergency crews had to deploy naloxone to revive the driver.
“A person who was apparently experiencing an overdose had driven through … the intersection into oncoming traffic, causing a significant collision,” Sgt. Elenore Sturko said.
The man was taken to hospital and arrested for impaired driving, she said.
It was the third case of suspected drug-impaired operation of a vehicle in the city in the last week, she said.
On Monday, crews responding to a head-on collision near 128 Street and 102 Avenue found an allegedly drug-impaired driver, along with a used syringe and spoon with drug residue in the vehicle.
The next day, officers were called to the 8000 block of 128 Street, where they found a couple passed out in a vehicle with the engine running.
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Police found a knife in the man’s waistband and cocaine and a loaded firearm in the vehicle, Sturko said.
Police recognize the region is in the grips of a drug addiction crisis, Sturko said, but she pleaded with anyone using drugs not to put others at risk.
“We’re urging you, please don’t get behind the wheel,” she said.