Three-wheeled chase across bridge

NEWS/ POLICE — A 20-year-old man is facing a bevy of charges after a bizarre early morning police chase across the Overlander Bridge today (Friday).

A Kamloops RCMP member patrolling in the 200 block of Tranquille Road at 12:02 a.m. saw a pickup truck approaching from the opposite direction on three wheels.

Sgt. Michael Buxton-Carr said the driver-side front wheel assembly had broken, causing the wheel to sit at a 90-degree angle and causing a shower of sparks to trail from the truck.

The driver failed to stop when directed by the police, and travelled slowly through the construction zone on the Overlander bridge, gathering pylons in the broken wheel assembly. RCMP abandoned their efforts to stop the truck as it approached the downtown core, recognizing that the driver was not going to follow direction.

Police patrols later found the truck on Hwy 5 at the intersection with Shuswap Road. The truck had become lodged on the centre meridian and was now unoccupied.

With help from the Police Dog Service team, investigators located the driver a short distance from the truck.

“The investigators have determined that the truck had suffered the damage to the wheel during a collision with a building on Tranquille Road,” said Buxton-Carr.

Police expect to recommend charges of impaired driving, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, flight from police, and failure to remain at the scene of an accident.