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Columbia Valley RCMP Report
By Sgt. Bob Vatamaniuck
The past week saw the Columbia Valley RCMP detachment receive about 60 calls for service. The following is a small sample of those calls.
High-beam blinded semi driver hits ditch in KNP
On January 12 at about 7 a.m., Columbia Valley RCMP responded to report of a single vehicle motor vehicle incident in Kootenay National Park where a tractor-trailer had gone into the ditch and was on its side. Emergency Health Services were called first and were able to attend before police. They found the driver and took him to the Invermere & District Hospital. The RCMP eventually attended the scene and was able to determine that the vehicle was completely off the road and not blocking traffic; after conducting a scene assessment the RCMP then attended the hospital and spoke with the driver who reported that he was blinded by an oncoming semi who did not turn his high-beams off. The driver then swerved into the shoulder, lost control, and was sucked into the ditch before coming to rest on its side. No charges were laid as a result. RCMP continued to get calls about the truck in the ditch throughout the day as no one stopped to see if the driver was still there and OK but thought they should call police nevertheless.
iPhone stolen from car
On January 13, at about noon, Columbia Valley RCMP received a report that an iPhone 6 was stolen from a vehicle while it was parked at the Panorama Mountain Resort. If anyone has any information about this theft they are asked to call the detachment or Crimestoppers.
Grader operator, resident get into heated discussion
In the late afternoon hours of January 13, an employee from Mainroad Contracting contacted RCMP to report a confrontation in the community of Fairmont Hot Springs. A grader operator was confronted by a resident in Fairmont who was angry that a snow pile was left on the road in front of his house. The two got into an argument about the snow pile left on the residential street and the confrontation eventually escalated to the point where police had to be called. Police attended and things calmed down.
Brothers fail to handle their liquor, spend night in cells
During the late night hours of January 14, Columbia Valley RCMP members were patrolling the Pine Inn at Panorama Resort for a university event. Members came into contact with a young intoxicated male who was in one of the hallways and causing a disturbance. The RCMP members were trying to escort him back to his room when he decided to become belligerent. He continued his display of aggressive behaviour and began to damage property. He was subsequently arrested for Mischief.
The RCMP, along with the capable members of the security team attached to the resort, helped the young man into a police car where he could pose no further risk to himself or others. However, his intoxicated brother also introduced himself to the police as he tried to interfere with the arrest and removal of his brother and began to damage resort property further; subsequently he too met an arrest. Both brothers were lodged in cells for the night to avoid continuation and to sober up. The brothers were not charged criminally as they were from the USA and the damage was minimal. They were, however, banned from ever going back to the resort and the bus in which they travelled.
DUI for 10th Avenue speeder
At about this same time on January 14, another patrol vehicle was in Invermere and observed a vehicle southbound on 10th Avenue travelling at a high rate of speed. The driver was confronted and he appeared to have glassy eyes, odor of liquor on his breath and empty beer cans in the vehicle. The driver admitted that he had consumed liquor earlier in the evening. He eventually provided two samples of his breath in a roadside screening device and both registered “FAIL”. He was given 90-day Immediate Roadside Prohibition from driving and his vehicle was impounded for 30 days.
Skis stolen
Sometime on the afternoon of January 16 culprit(s) took some skis from the Panorama Ski Lodge; they are worth approximately $1,000 and are described as Nordica Top Fuel, 170 cm, black, white and red. If anyone has any information about this theft they are asked to call the detachment or Crimestoppers.
– Sgt. Bob Vatamaniuck is commander of the Columbia Valley RCMP Detachment
