The province’s police watchdog service says it’s investigating an incident in which two people were injured in B.C.’s Interior on Wednesday night.
On Thursday, the B.C. RCMP announced that it had notified the Independent Investigations Office of B.C. (IIO) of an officer from Vernon spotting a speeding vehicle along Highway 97A, between Armstrong and Enderby.
The officer was travelling southbound, around 9:30 p.m., when a grey vehicle passed by at an alleged high rate of speed.
“The officer activated the emergency equipment in the police vehicle and continued to observe the grey vehicle, driving dangerously before losing sight of the vehicle,” said B.C. RCMP.
“It is reported that the officer deactivated the emergency equipment, but continued to travel southbound, patrolling for the vehicle.”
Police say just after 9:45 p.m., they received a report of a single-vehicle collision on Highway 97A, just before Armstrong.
“Officers located a vehicle matching the description of the one that had passed the officer earlier, with two men inside,” said B.C. RCMP.
“The men were transported to a local area hospital by the BC Ambulance Service, for treatment of what are believed to serious but non-life-threatening injuries.”
The B.C. RCMP said it notified the IIO of the incident.
In turn, the IIO announced that it was investigating the incident.
“Information provided by the RCMP indicates that on December 1, 2021, at approximately 9:30 p.m., an officer unsuccessfully attempted to conduct a traffic stop of a vehicle on Highway 97A north of Armstrong,” said the IIO.
“About 20 minutes later, a vehicle was reported to have gone off the road at the intersection of Highway 97A and Pleasant Valley Road. The vehicle description is consistent with the vehicle that an officer had attempted to stop a short time earlier.”
The IIO says its goal is to determine what role, if any, police action or inaction may have played in the injuries.
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