Nanaimo RCMP are investigating a vehicle incident involving an officers vehicle.
According to reserve Constable Gary O’Brien, the incident took place at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday when an officer stopped a vehicle on Hammond Bay Road for speeding.
The officer was in an unmarked police vehicle, emergency lights fully activated and pulled off as far as possible to the side of the road when a dark-coloured SUV came from behind and drove directly into the side of the vehicle.
“The impact of that vehicle caused the SUV to flip and land on its roof,” said O’Brien.
“The officer was not injured, and his car was forced into the car ahead of him. The driver was also not injured.”
He says the officer called for assistance with other officers arriving to the scene and overtaking the investigation, finding that the SUV driver was suspected of being impaired by drugs, who was taken back to further testing by local detachments.
While the SUV and the speeder’s vehicle suffered significant damage, resulting in them being towed, the officer’s vehicle was able to be driven back to the local detachment.
O’Brien says the officer is a little sore but will return to duty.
“As I spoke with him, he said regardless of the education, enforcement, and all of the awareness campaigns, impaired driving is still a predominant issue in our communities, and collectively we have to do something about it,” said O’Brien.
“If you see a suspected impaired driver, you have to stop as soon as you can, call 911, revise the plate, description of the vehicle, and the last known direction of travel.”
O’Brien says they are still investigating the incident, adding there is a lot of work needing to be done before they meet the threshold of putting charges before the courts.
