Police in Greater Victoria are urging all drivers to follow the rules — and reminding them what can happen if they don’t — after a police officer was nearly hit by an SUV on purpose last year.
On June 3, 2020, a CRD Integrated Road Safety Unit officer was conducting speed enforcement on the Pat Bay Highway when he spotted a Maserati Levante travelling more than 110 kilometres an hour in an 80km/hour zone.
According to police, when the officer flagged the vehicle to pull over on the shoulder of the highway, the driver accelerated and intentionally drove at the officer, nearly hitting him, before speeding away.
The officer was able to write down the licence plate number and alerted local police agencies.
Less than two weeks later on June 14, the vehicle was found and seized by Victoria Police as offence-related property — for dangerous driving — in relation to the incident on June 3.
The lead investigator was granted a search warrant for the vehicle and when executed, officers found a large quantity of illegal narcotics and evidence of drug trafficking.
The registered owner is known to police and was issued multiple tickets for excessive speed and failing to stop for police, as well as other offences.
The Maserati remained seized until January of 2021, when it was repossessed by a financial institution that held an interest in it.
Police say this serves as a valuable lesson to those who choose to engage in dangerous driving behaviour which puts the lives of police officers and others at risk.
“Police will use all legal means at their disposal to ensure that there are significant penalties meted out to such individuals, including taking your car away – permanently,” said the BC RCMP Traffic Services in a release on Thursday.
This may also be followed up with a report to RoadSafetyBC requesting that individuals be prohibited from driving, said police.
“Please obey the direction of police officers if you are being signalled to pull over and stop. The consequences if you don’t may mean the loss of your vehicle and driving privileges,” stated BC RCMP Traffic Services.
Police would like to remind all motorists that they can contribute to road safety by following a few simple rules, including driving defensively, obeying speed limits, wearing seat-belts, driving sober and distraction-free every time you get behind the wheel.
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Rebecca Lawrence
