A Kelowna, B.C., man behind the wheel of a stolen white Dodge pickup truck was arrested early Monday after allegedly leading police on a dangerous chase.
It was just after midnight when the white Dodge pickup truck that had been stolen a day earlier piqued neighbourhood suspicion and prompted someone to call the police. They reported that the driver had been “casing residences and driving erratically” in a cul de sac located in the 100 block of Gemini Road.
“Officers later located the truck and on several occasions observed unprovoked dangerous driving behaviour including excessive speeds and hopping over curbs, nearly causing several collisions with other civilian vehicles,” RCMP said.
Around 2 a.m., the stolen truck was then spotted swerving across three lanes, including the yellow centre line, travelling westbound on Springfield Road.
Mounties said that it appeared to be an “attempt at colliding head-on with a patrolling police vehicle travelling eastbound. ”
“Based on this extreme escalation of risk that the driver of the truck posed to the public and police officer, police engaged in a pursuit to stop the truck and restore public safety,” RCMP said.
At approximately 2:40 a.m., RCMP relocated the vehicle heading west on Highway 97. With emergency equipment activated, officers successfully stopped the truck along the centre median of Harvey Avenue, just east of Pandosy Street.
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Officers immediately arrested the driver and identified him as being known to police.
A second suspect, who was the passenger in the truck, fled on foot. He was found hiding nearby shortly afterward and also taken into custody.
“These two individuals demonstrated a wanton disregard for the safety and well-being of the general public and the police officers who put themselves at risk to bring this dangerous situation to a safe conclusion,” said Insp. Beth McAndie with the Kelowna RCMP Regional Detachment.
Both suspects have criminal histories, were remanded into custody and will appear today in court, Monday, April 17.
Anyone who witnessed this event and/or has video evidence of what happened, please contact the Kelowna RCMP at (250) 762-3300 and reference file number 2023-20115.
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