The Trail and Greater District RCMP Detachment removed two impaired drivers off the roads this weekend, and want to remind motorists of the risks of getting behind the wheel while impaired.
A media release from the detachment stated that the first report came in on April 26 when a Trail RCMP officer received a call shortly after 5:30 p.m. about a 30-year old Castlegar woman driving erratically and hitting a parked vehicle on Kipling Street in Warfield.
The woman, driving at a high rate of speed down the 600 Block of Kipling Street, took a corner too fast and crashed into the parked vehicle, fleeing the scene immediately after.
However, the responding officer had already received additional reports about the woman driving dangerously and erratically in the Warfield area before and after the incident.
While at the scene, the officer saw the woman and her extensively damaged vehicle driving on the road toward him and his marked vehicle.
The officer used his marked police vehicle to block the road and detain and arrest the woman and her vehicle roadside, but not before she attempted to flee the scene on foot.
After a brief struggle, police were successfully able to handcuff and arrest her for dangerous driving.
She was also issued a 90-day Immediate Roadside Prohibition and had her vehicle impounded after she refused to cooperate with the officer’s request for a roadside breathalyzer test, which Sergeant Mike Wincetowich reminds motorists results in the same consequences as failing.
“The consequences for refusing or failing a roadside sample are the same. So her vehicle was impounded for 30 days, and she received a 90-day immediate roadside prohibition.”
Police are seeking anyone who witnessed the woman’s erratic driving to contact the Trail RCMP detachment.
The incident is one of two suspected impaired driving incidents Trail RCMP responded to over the weekend.
On Saturday, a 23-year-old Trail man was also removed from the roads on Bailey Street in Trail for suspected impaired driving.
Wincetowich said the issue of impaired driving is still much bigger in local communities than it should be and reminds motorists of the importance of arranging a safe ride home.
“From my knowledge, the top three ways people die on the road are speeding, distracted driving, and impaired driving. Impaired driving is still an issue in our communities, much bigger than I would have thought it would be. Every week in the Trail area, there seem to be three or four people who get arrested or stopped while impaired driving,” he said.
“We’re encouraging people to make the right choices. Don’t drive while you’re impaired. Arrange for a safe drive ahead of time and plan out your evening. There are cabs available in Trail, there’s the transit system, there are options for you.”
Something going on in your part of the Kootenays you think people should know about? Send us a news tip by emailing [email protected].
