In an effort to warn drivers against driving impaired this holiday season, Burnaby RCMP are releasing a video from the dashcam of a recently convicted drunk driver.
The video was taken on Jan. 8, 2021, and captured the driver’s journey from Richmond to Vancouver and into Burnaby, police said Thursday.
The driver crosses the centre line towards oncoming traffic multiple times, narrowly missing other vehicles. The vehicle also blows through a stop sign and a red light.
In one portion of the video, pedestrians are walking through an intersection not far away, police added.
Eventually, the driver hits cars parked along the side of the road and slams into a fire hydrant.
“We urge everyone to watch this video. This is what impaired driving looks like,” said Cpl. Michael Kalanj in a news release. “There is no excuse for being impaired behind the wheel.”
The Mounties said they were alerted to the situation when several callers to 911 reported a Cadillac Escalade had crashed near Royal Oak Avenue and Marine Drive.
The damage to the fire hydrant caused water to gush onto the street and into nearby homes. But the driver decided to keep going.
The dashcam video shows the person continuing along the road in the opposite lane before crashing into a stop sign near Gilley Avenue and Marine Drive.
When police arrived, the SUV was badly damaged and missing a tire.
The driver refused to provide a breath sample and did not cooperate, police said.
In August, a 62-year-old Burnaby resident was convicted of impaired driving, police added, and received a one-year driving prohibition and $1,000 fine.
His actions, however, caused an estimated $28,000 in flooding damage to nearby homes and more than $6,600 in damage to City of Burnaby property.
“It is shocking that nobody was killed or injured, including the driver,” said Kalanj.
“This driver made a decision to put himself and others at risk when he got behind the wheel that night and drove through three cities.”
The RCMP is urging drivers to plan for a safe ride home over the holidays.
On average, 16 people are killed and 830 injured in 1,500 impaired-driving-related crashes in the Lower Mainland every year, police said.