VICTORIA -- Two Vancouver Island teens have apologized to a Central Saanich farmer for destroying one of his fields over the weekend, causing thousands of dollars in damage.
Three 17-year-old boys — one from Sidney and two from Central Saanich — are said to be responsible for the damage, and the two drivers of the trucks have now apologized to fifth-generation farm owner Ryan Vantreight for the damage they caused on Saturday night.
“The amount of damage that they’ve done here is absolutely incredible,” Vantreight told CTV News on Sunday. “With the moisture in the field, the tires sunk in and did a lot of damage."
On Monday, the local farmer said that the teens' apology is a good start, but not nearly enough to make up for the damage caused.
"They offered their hands in apology so that's a good step in the right direction," said Vantreight. "They're 17 years old, they made a poor decision and the acts that they did are going to have far-reaching effects and they are going to have to pay for that."
The Saanich Peninsula farmer says that roughly five acres of hayfields were destroyed overnight and that the farm will suffer a loss because it will take a whole season before the field can recover and produce hay again.
No arrests have been made due to the joyride damage, however Central Saanich police are recommending charges of mischief to private property for Crown counsel to consider.
"In this case we will be seeking charges of mischief to private property given the damage," said Deputy Chief Derren Lench of the Central Saanich Police Service.
"The ruts that were put there by the tires, the damage from driving all over the field there, the hours it is going to take to get that field back to where it can yield a crop again, it's going to be more than six or seven thousand dollars I would suspect," said Lench.
On Sunday, Vantreight said that he hopes in the future that people will think twice about joyriding on farmers' fields.
