A man in his 30s is facing several charges after a wild police chase in Edmonton caught on camera by many came to a halt Sunday evening.
Around 7:20 p.m., Edmonton police officers were at Evergreen Trailer Park to speak with the driver of a suspicious vehicle.
Police said when officers tried to speak with the driver, the suspect vehicle struck a police vehicle and fled the scene.
Ron Hall lives at Evergreen. He was having supper Sunday evening when he heard a big crash outside.
“We looked out the window right away and saw this pick-up truck pulling a large trailer smashed around our fence,” he said. “It was a large crash, like an accident — car accident — just a big bang and then as soon as we looked out we saw the pickup truck and the trailer. He didn’t turn wide enough and just dragged through the fence and destroyed our fence.”
Hall said he and his son both got into their vehicles to follow the truck, hoping to get the licence plate of the vehicle that ruined their fence.
“He was going fast. He crashed into the yield sign at the corner and then went onto the main road, hit the median over there.”
Hall said they saw the police so decided to stop following the truck.
Fellow Evergreen resident Matthew Hill said he was outside barbecuing when he heard sirens and screaming.
“I saw the black truck come screaming out of the entrance, plow through a flower bed, made a right and then a bunch of cop cars chasing him down 167 Avenue heading west,” Hill explained.
“There were people out walking dogs, riding bikes, barbecuing. It was a beautiful day yesterday…It could have been a lot worse.”
The driver then led police on a brazen chase. Videos on social media show the vehicle carelessly driving into other vehicles, at one point nearly missing a man standing in a driveway.
Police said the decision to pursue the truck was made because of a concern for the public’s safety due to the driver’s actions.
The chase ended in the area of 66 Street and 118 Avenue, which closed down the intersection for quite some time, though it has since reopened.
In an update Monday afternoon, police said the suspect attempted to steal an SUV that was waiting at the intersection before he was taken into custody.
Three people – two civilians in vehicles that were hit and the suspect – were taken to hospital. Two officers were also taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and have been released.
Katy Mackay had a frightening ordeal as she came upon the active police scene on Sunday evening. She was driving down 118 Avenue near 66 Street and saw several vehicles, including police in the area. She also saw debris on the road. She thought a collision had just happened so she pulled over near the 7-Eleven.
“Then everything went into slow motion,” Mackay told Global News. “The guy in the truck jumped out of the truck and came running towards my car and it didn’t look good. It looked as if he wanted my car.”
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Mackay scrambled to lock her doors. She drives an older vehicle with manual locks and said she managed to get the doors locked just in time.
“He pulled the door, trying to get in. And when he found he couldn’t open it, he slammed my window with his fist — didn’t break — and then he sort of stumbled back behind my car and that’s when the police took him down.”
She watched as police put the man in handcuffs. She said the entire ordeal was surreal.
“I’ve never felt adrenaline like that in my life. My toes were fizzing, it was bizarre,” she recalled Monday morning. “I teach Latin and foster Greyhounds, I don’t get a lot of adrenaline in my life. But I had a little come undone, there was a lot of shaking and a little hyperventilating.
“The weirdest part was being inside crime tape. That’s crazy and I’ve never seen so many police vehicles and police officers around.
“The police were great. They just kept saying, ‘You’re safe. He’s in cuffs, just take some breaths.'”
Mackay said she didn’t sleep overly well Sunday night. She’s happy the situation didn’t turn out worse than it did.
“You can’t do too many ‘what ifs?’ I’m just really happy that it turned out as well as it did and apparently not too many people hurt from what could have been a really, really bad situation,” she said.
Mackay wasn’t injured. She said the only sign of the interaction was a scratch on her driver’s side window.
Steve Soucy, 32, is facing several charges including flight from a peace officer, three counts of assaulting a police officer with a weapon, failing to stop after an accident, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, theft of a motor vehicle and possession of stolen property over $500,000.
Police said the truck involved was stolen and speed and impairment are considered factors in the incident.
– With files from Kirby Bourne/630 CHED
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