An incident involving a driver who crashed his motorcycle while fleeing from police in the South Okanagan is being investigated by B.C.’s police watchdog service.
On Thursday, B.C. RCMP announced that it had notified the Independent Investigation Office of British Columbia (IIO) of the incident on June 20.
According to police, officers were called to the 100 block of Brooks Place in Penticton, just after 3:30 a.m., following a complaint of suspicious vehicles and people.
“Attending officers located the two suspects and their vehicles, but both vehicles reportedly fled,” said Penticton RCMP.
Police say officers later spotted the vehicles near Killarney Avenue and Forestbrook Drive before they reportedly fled again.
“Officers followed and one vehicle was involved in a single-vehicle collision on Penticton Avenue near Government Street,” said RCMP. “The male driver was found at the crash scene suffering from serious injuries. He was subsequently transported to hospital.”
The IIO said, “the driver was found unresponsive but breathing. He was transported to a local hospital for observation. While there, his condition deteriorated and he was transferred to a regional hospital for additional care.”
Police say no one else was involved in the collision and there were no other reported injuries.
The IIO says it’s investigating to confirm the details of the incident and to determine what role, if any, police actions or inactions played in the collision and the resulting injuries.
Penticton RCMP added that it’s conducting a concurrent investigation into the initial complaint and subsequent collision.
Anyone with any relevant information about this incident is asked to contact the IIO at 1-855-446-8477 or via the contact form online.