A police chase that spanned two Lower Mainland cities resulted in two arrests, an injured officer and several damaged police cars Tuesday night, according to authorities.
The pursuit began when an Abbotsford Police Department officer tried to stop a blue Dodge Dakota pickup truck with “unattached B.C. licence plates” on Lilac Crescent in that city, according to a statement from police.
The driver allegedly rammed the officer’s vehicle and fled the scene. That officer “was not seriously injured,” police said.
Plainclothes officers then spotted the pickup truck driving onto Highway 1 westbound. Police followed it from Abbotsford to Surrey, the driver “at times operating his vehicle in a dangerous manner,” the statement from police says.
The pickup entered a cul-de sac near Sequoia Drive and 80th Avenue in Surrey, where officers attempted to box it in. Police say the driver then rammed multiple AbbyPD vehicles, causing “extensive” damage and injuring an officer. Images from the scene show an unmarked AbbyPD car with a bashed-in front being towed away.
The truck broke free and once again fled, but AbbyPD officers decided to stop chasing it. Shortly later, the pickup came to a stop on its own a few blocks away due to the damage it sustained in the escape.
Surrey Police Service and Surrey RCMP helped AbbyPD locate the driver, a 25-year-old man from Surrey who is known to police, and a 36-year-old female passenger.
Charges of assaulting a police officer, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, flight from police and prohibited driving were recommended against the man, and he was taken into AbbyPD custody. He was set to appear in court Wednesday morning.
The passenger was arrested on outstanding warrants for flight from police, obstructing a peace officer and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle.
AbbyPD is asking anyone with dash cam video of the pickup truck to contact police.
