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Drunk driver arrested after sideswiping RCMP cruiser in Nanaimo

Driver sent to hospital after breath samples were measured at four times the blood-alcohol limit
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An allegedly impaired driver was arrested in Nanaimo on Wednesday, April 28, after sideswiping an RCMP cruiser. (File photo)

An allegedly impaired driver was arrested after sideswiping a RCMP patrol car this week.

The incident happened at about 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 28, near the intersection of Bowen Road and Dufferin Crescent, where an officer was pulled over on the side of the road.

“The next thing he knows, he feel a jar on his vehicle and he sees his driver’s-side rear-view mirror being blown off his car followed by a Jeep SUV taking out the side of his vehicle,” said Const. Gary O’Brien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesman.

The officer turned on his lights and siren and pulled the SUV over. O’Brien said the damage to the police car was significant enough that the officer had to hammer his shoulder against his door several times before it would open and he could get out of the vehicle.

“The driver [of the Jeep], when he stepped out, had terrible balance and had to lean against his vehicle to avoid falling over,” O’Brien said. “He was immediate arrested for impaired driving and taken to the detachment where he provided breath samples of .320, .350 and .350, all of which are over four times the legal limit.”

Police called for an ambulance to take the man to hospital to be treated for alcohol poisoning. Upon his release from hospital, the driver was served with a summons to appear in provincial court in Nanaimo on Aug. 3. He was also issued a 90-day roadside suspension and his vehicle was impounded for 30 days.

No one was injured.

“If you suspect a driver is impaired, pull off to the side of the road, when safe to do so, and dial 911 and provide the licence plate number, direction of travel and vehicle description,” O’Brien said.

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Chris Bush

About the Author: Chris Bush

As a photographer/reporter with the Nanaimo News Bulletin since 1998.
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