Police said a Ford Fusion that was speeding crashed at Royal Oak Drive and Cordova Bay Road. (Saanich police).
Saanich police say they are looking for witnesses who saw a car crash after it drove around 120 km/h in a 50 km/h on Tuesday.
At around 8:30 p.m., a Saanich police officer was driving west in the 1100 block of Royal Oak Drive, near Lochside Elementary School when they saw a driver in a 2017 black Ford Fusion allegedly speeding while going east on Royal Oak Drive.
Police said the Ford Fusion was trying to overtake another eastbound vehicle and was travelling at around 120 km/h in a 50 km/h zone. The Ford Fusion was driving into oncoming traffic and when it passed the police car, the officer made a U-turn to try and pull the driver over. However, the car was out of sight.
The car crashed a block away at the intersection of Royal Oak Drive and Cordova Bay Road. Police said the driver was not able to negotiate a curve in the road.
The driver, a 21-year-old Saanich man, was arrested at the scene for dangerous driving. He has been released from custody and will appear in court in February.
“This was a tremendously dangerous situation” Sgt. Jereme Leslie, public information officer with Saanich police, said in a release.
“The actions of the driver put the public at significant risk and it’s extremely lucky no one was using the sidewalk were the vehicle left the road. Someone could have easily been injured or killed.”
Saanich police identified two witnesses who were standing on the sidewalk near the crash and asking for other witnesses to come forward. Anyone who saw the crash or the car before the crash is asked to call Saanich police at 250-475-4321.
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