A Vernon, B.C., man was arrested Monday after RCMP had to use a spike belt to stop him from fleeing in a stolen minivan.
The situation unfolded Monday, at around 9:45 p.m., when a Vernon North Okanagan RCMP officer spotted a stolen minivan travelling southbound on Highway 97A near the intersection of Lansdowne Road in Spallumcheen.
They attempted to conduct a traffic stop and that made the situation worse.
“The driver of the minivan failed to stop for police and continued southbound on Highway 97A at a high rate of speed,” RCMP said in a press release.
“Shortly afterward, the vehicle was spotted on Highway 97 near St Anne’s Road by a different officer.”
A second traffic stop was then attempted. The van, however, made a U-turn, and fled once again at a high rate of speed toward Vernon.
Additional responding officers set up and deployed a spike belt on Highway 97 near the intersection of Meadowlark Road, successfully puncturing two of the van’s tires. Once the vehicle came to a stop, police took the driver into custody without incident.
The suspect, having failed to stop twice for police, was clearly motivated to avoid arrest,
Cpl. Eric Beaulieu of the Vernon North Okanagan RCMP said in a press release.
The driver and lone occupant, a 40-year-old man, remains in custody at this time.
Investigators determined that the man was bound by release order, with a condition that stipulated that he must not be found behind the steering wheel of any motor vehicle without the owner present.
The man now faces a number of new potential charges under the Criminal Code and B.C. Motor Vehicle Act.
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