A man was arrested by police after a chase with a stolen car came to a dramatic end in south Edmonton late Sunday, witnesses told Global News.
The crash happened at the major intersection of Calgary Trail and Whitemud Drive, Edmonton police said.
Alex Lundell and Mohamed Elhenawi were in a truck that was hit during the incident and said they first saw the vehicle, which police said was stolen, driving down Calgary Trail, south of Whyte Avenue.
“He kind of, like, zooming by us going, I’m guessing, like 140, 160ish (kilometres an hour),” Elhenawi estimated.
The young men said when they reached 51 Avenue, they saw some police vehicles following the car. The men continued driving south and reached a red light at Whitemud Drive.
That’s where they saw the silver car had turned around and was driving back north in the wrong direction, headed right toward them.
That’s when Lundell said police intercepted it at the ramp to the Whitemud.
“He was about to just ram into us. But thankfully a cop came and just slammed into him and just sped out into us.”
The car, an Infiniti G35, ended up boxed in by several unmarked police trucks on the road leading down to Whitemud Drive westbound.
“There was like four or five cops, they were all just cornering him,” Lundell said. “He was trying to drive away. They were all hitting him — left, right.”
Edmonton Police Service spokesperson Scott Pattison confirmed EPS tactical members set up and caught the fleeing driver near Calgary Trail and the Whitemud Drive merge ramp. The tactical team conducted a box-in maneuver to stop the car.
“During the police intervention, the driver attempted to flee police and nearly struck an EPS tactical member, while damaging two police vehicles,” Pattison said in an email to Global News.
Lundell said their truck didn’t sustain much damage and no one inside it was hurt.
“It was definitely a crazy experience, but I’m thankful that nobody got injured.”
Elhenawi and Lundell both said the driver of the stolen car was taken away, not wearing a shirt or shoes but walking on his own.
Elhenawi said the officers they spoke with claimed the chase had been ongoing for an hour before it came to an end in south Edmonton.
“They said all the cop cars were full of gas this morning and now they’re all empty,” Elhenawi said.
Pattison confirmed the man stole the car and fled from police, but said officers didn’t pursue on the ground. He added the accused drove at excessive speeds, running through several red lights.
The EPS Air 1 helicopter found the car and tracked it from above until a tactical team was in place to stop the car at the Whitemud, police said.
Terence Woodward, 31, is charged with dangerous operation of a vehicle, assaulting a police officer, possession of stolen property under $5,000, operating a vehicle while prohibited, and four other breaches of conditions.
Records show he has a criminal record with convictions for crimes including assault, possession of a controlled substance and dangerous operation, for which he had his licence suspended.
The crash happened at the same intersection where two people were killed and another critically injured last month.