An allegedly impaired driver sideswiped a Nanaimo RCMP vehicle and kept going before he was pulled over, then blowed four times the legal limit, according to police.
It happened at around 5 p.m. Wednesday on Dufferin Crescent near Bowen Road, Nanaimo RCMP said in a news release.
An officer was in his vehicle when suddenly, his driver’s side mirror snapped off.
“The impact jarred him and then suddenly he watched as a Jeep SUV careened along the driver side of his vehicle,” police said.
The driver kept on travelling down the road, and the uninjured officer went after him, according to RCMP.
He was pulled over in a nearby apartment complex and when he left his vehicle, the responding officer noted “a very strong odour of liquor,” with the driver allegedly having trouble standing.
The man, 44, was arrested for impaired driving and taken to the Nanaimo RCMP detachment where his breath samples read .320, then .350 twice, police said.
Because of the high readings, the man was taken to hospital for possible alcohol poisoning before he was treated and released.
The man now faces a 90-day driving ban, an impound for 30 days and was served with a court date of Aug. 3 for driving while over the legal limit.
“Given his gross state of impairment, the time of day and the amount of traffic in that area, this situation could have easily turned tragic,” said Const. Gary O’Brien of Nanaimo RCMP.
Police remind drivers that if they suspect another driver is impaired, pull over when safe to do so, note the licence plate and call 911 with details including what way the driver was headed and what their vehicle looked like.
Jeff Lawrence
