Man faces multiple charges following speeding incident on Highway 3A
By Lone Sheep Publishing
A 54-year-old man from Crescent Valley is facing multiple charges following a driving incident between Nelson and Castlegar earlier this month RCMP said in a media release Monday.
Police said the charges stem from a high speed altercation on Thursday, May 19, 2022, after the driver was clocked by an officer with the BC Highway Patrol Integrated Road Safety Unit (IRSU)a driving almost 40 kph over the posted limit on Highway 3A.
“After getting in behind the vehicle and activating lights and siren, the speeding driver pulled over onto the shoulder and into the ditch, but kept driving at speed,” the media release said.
“The police officer was able to head the driver off and get the vehicle stopped.”
RCMP said the speeding investigation took a turn when the police officer noted significant symptoms of impairment due to drug use.
“The driver was arrested for impaired driving after failing a standardized field sobriety test and then decided to provide a false name,” the media release explained.
“As the police officer continued to investigate, he quickly determined that the driver was not being truthful about the name.”
“Eventually, the true identity of the driver, a 54-year-old man from Crescent Valley, was determined after locating identification in the vehicle,” the release added.
RCMP said during the police check of the driver, it was revealed the man had multiple warrants for his arrest (unlawfully at large, prohibited driving, obstruct peace officer, fail to comply with probation, breach undertaking, and several firearms offences) from multiple jurisdictions, had an invalid driver’s license, was prohibited from driving, and was in possession of a controlled substance.
Police said the driver was held overnight to be brought before the court on the outstanding arrest warrants and was eventually released by the court and his next court appearance is June 21, 2022.
As a bonus, a new police officer with Nelson Police Department was doing a rotation with the Integrated Road Safety Unit during the field-training component of her training and was able to apply newly acquired skills to help keep our roads safe.
“I am extremely thankful this driver was removed from our roadways before he or someone else was seriously injured. Even though the High Risk Driving campaign is coming to a close, we are always looking for drivers that put other people at significant risk,” said RCMP Inspector Chad Badry, the officer in charge of BC Highway Patrol for the Kootenay region.
