By Sgt. Bob Vatamaniuck

The past week saw the Columbia Valley RCMP Detachment receive about 65 calls for service.  The following is a small sample of those calls.

Bar closing DUI

On February 1, at approximately 3 a.m., RCMP officers were in downtown Invermere when they noted a number of pedestrians out on the street as the drinking establishments were closing. A dark coloured car emerged from a parking lot and the RCMP confronted the driver to ensure they had all of their proper driver and vehicle information. When spoken to, the driver had glossy eyes and an odour of liquor emanated from the vehicle. The driver admitted they had been drinking all night in the bar.  A roadside screening device was administered twice which both resulted in a “FAIL” result.  The diver lost the privilege to drive for 90 days and the vehicle was impounded for 30 days.

Scam dodged

During the morning of February 1, Columbia Valley RCMP received a complaint that a resident of Radium Hot Springs was receiving harassing phone calls.  The complainant reported that he had received several scam phone calls from someone who is advising that he had won a prize and that he needs to complete several steps to claim that prize. Furthermore, the potential victim advised that there was no caller identified on the phone calls and that he received calls until midnight. He advised that the caller appeared to know private information about him but that he had not provided any further information to the caller. Fortunately, the complainant did not fall for the scam. RCMP reminds readers that there are several phone scams which involve sending information or money in order to claim an alleged prize or reward. Best course of action is (if you don’t recognize the caller or did not enter the contest) to hang up on any calls and to not provide any information to the caller.

Two-vehicle collision

Later on February 1, Columbia Valley RCMP received a call at 3:45 p.m. of a two-vehicle collision partially blocking Athalmer Road and Kinbasket Trail intersection with no injuries.

RCMP attended and spoke with two independent witnesses who explained a blue Alero was east bound turning left from Athalmer Road onto Kinbasket with a green light when it was hit by a grey Ford F150 going straight west. It was quite apparent that the Alero turned left when it was unsafe therefore the driver was given a ticket for failure to yield to traffic / green light. Both vehicles had to be towed away as neither was drivable after the collision.

Driver’s Focus impounded

On February 4, at about 11:30 p.m., RCMP officers were parked in a marked police vehicle near downtown Invermere when a black Ford Focus drove past them speeding in a low speed controlled area. RCMP pulled up behind the Focus with the emergency lights activated and the driver was spoken to. RCMP immediately noted a smell of liquor on the breath of the driver, who further claimed that he had been drinking.  A road-side screening device was administered and the driver provided two samples of his breath. Both tests registered as a “Warn.  Consequently, police imposed a three-day driver’s prohibition and further impounded the Focus for three-days.

Multi-vehicle collision

During the mid-afternoon hours of February 5 RCMP received a report of a multi-vehicle collision on Highway 93/95 near Stoddart Creek Road. Initial reports of two vehicles, which had collided into the back of a semi-truck, and two vehicles that had gone into the ditch, one hanging over an embankment

As police arrived it was apparent that a white commercial truck, not a semi-truck, was struck by a following Jeep Wrangler, mostly due to whiteout conditions.  A Ford truck behind the Jeep avoided collision by going off the road to the right. A Dodge Ram behind the Ford truck also went off the road to the right in order to avoid colliding with all the other vehicles that were stopped at the scene but it went quite deep into the adjoining ditch.

The statistics for the week witnessed: nine abandoned 911 calls, four domestic events [one resulted in an arrest], five Impaired Operation Investigations, and 14 Motor Vehicle Incidents [12 of those occurred during the snow storm].

– Sgt. Bob Vatamaniuck is Commander of the Columbia Valley RCMP Detachment

Article Share