RCMP use cruiser to push car with no brakes to a stop on Vancouver Island highway
RCMP had to use their vehicle to push a speeding car to a stop after the car – which was determined to have no working brakes – was spotted speeding on a Vancouver Island highway.
The vehicle was spotted by members of the BC Highway Patrol in Parksville, when the car was seen reportedly travelling 125 km/h in a 90 km/h zone on Highway 19 near Nanoose Bay.
"The car drove past the officer who immediately noticed that the driver had a stressed look on her face and had both hands off the steering wheel, gesturing wildly," said Mounties in a release Wednesday.
Police say a highway patrol officer pulled up to the car and determined that it was speeding because it had no working brakes.
"The officer manoeuvred his car in front of the speeding vehicle and, after several attempts to communicate his intentions to the driver, used it as the brakes to safely bring the vehicle to a stop without any injuries or damage," police said.
DRIVER WAS ALREADY UNDER DRIVING BAN
Once the vehicle, a 1999 Ford Escort, was safely at a stop, police say they spoke with the driver.
The 33-year-old woman initially gave police a fake name. After further investigation, Mounties say they learned that the woman was prohibited from driving and was also wanted on unrelated warrants.
Police also learned that the vehicle did not belong to the woman, had licence plates displayed that did not belong to the car or the driver, and the vehicle was uninsured.
Mounties also asked for a roadside breath test from the driver, which she failed resulting in an additional three-day driving ban.
RCMP say both the vehicle's foot brakes and hand brake were not working, and that the car was reported running through multiple red lights in Nanaimo.
The woman was served several driving tickets and has since been released from custody until her next court date. The vehicle itself was impounded.
"Police always expect the unexpected and this incident demonstrates how (BC Highway Patrol) officers work every day to make our highways safer together," said RCMP.
"Police remind drivers to obey the rules of the road and ensure your vehicle is safe to drive."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
BREAKING Mounties will not be charged in shooting death of B.C. Indigenous man
Three Mounties in British Columbia will not face charges in the killing of a 38-year-old Indigenous man on Vancouver Island in 2021.
Douglas DC-4 plane with 2 people on board crashes into river outside Fairbanks, Alaska
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
NASA hears from Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, after months of quiet
NASA has finally heard back from Voyager 1 again in a way that makes sense. The most distant spacecraft from Earth hadn't sent home any understandable data since last November.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit the federal carbon price on natural gas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.