Weaving through traffic and evading police, motorcycles hit 270 km/h near Victoria

Police are searching for at least three motorcyclists who were recorded speeding and weaving through traffic on the Pat Bay Highway north of Victoria before evading officers on Monday.

Investigators say the riders were racing up and down Highway 17 from Saanich, B.C., to Sidney, B.C., around 7 p.m., prompting more than a dozen 911 calls from witnesses.

Saanich police arrived on scene and attempted to stop the riders, who sped away.

"[The] motorcycles took off at an even higher rate of speed," Saanich police Const. Markus Anastasiades told CTV News on Wednesday. "They deemed it much too unsafe to continue attempts to pull them over."

Police are now asking anyone with video of the riders to contact investigators.

"We are asking the public to check their dashcam footage to see if they captured the riders, who did multiple laps up and down the highway around 7 p.m.," said Anastasiades in a statement Wednesday.

"One of our officers was able to obtain a speed reading on one motorcycle of 270 km/h, which is an incredibly dangerous speed that put all road users at a significant risk of injury that evening," he added.

The motorcycles were described as red, blue and black sports bikes with no visible licence plates.

Saanich police say there were reports the riders may have also visited the West Shore.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Saanich Police Department at 250-475-4321, or report anonymously through Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

'DISAPPOINTED AND FRUSTRATED'

Ron Cronk, executive director of the Vancouver Island Safety Council, says the videos are unacceptable.

"I saw all the videos and I tell you, it leaves me angry, disappointed and frustrated," he said.

Cronk is a retired police officer and currently works as a motorcycle instructor. He says the videos give motorcycle riders a bad name.

"The motorcycle community gets tarred with that kind of behavior," he said. "That’s just a small minority, from what I understand, and it just frustrates me."

CTV News reached out to the TikTok accounts that posted the videos. No response was received and both accounts were deleted shortly after.

The motorcycle riders in the videos could face criminal charges including dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, as well as traffic violations for excessive speeding, stunting, street racing, and driving without due care and attention.