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Nine impaired drivers nailed following Solstice rave
Elk Valley RCMP are extremely alarmed and concerned for public safety stemming from the results of a roadblock on Coal Creek Road on June 22.
A Summer Solstice Party Rave was held up Coal Creek in Fernie on June 21, from 9 p.m. until 9 a.m. the following day.
The event, advertised through social media, was organized and attended primarily by Fernie residents, with people from Kimberley, Cranbrook and Southern Alberta also in attendance.
Police were called to a report of an intoxicated male causing a disturbance at the rave shortly before 8 a.m. and located the suspect leaving in a vehicle on Coal Creek Road. The driver attempted to avoid police but investigators soon stopped his vehicle. The driver failed a roadside screening test and was issued a 90-day Immediate Roadside Prohibition (IRP) as well as a 30-day vehicle impound.
Officers then set up a roadblock on Coal Creek Road and over the next six hours issued three 90-day IRPs, three three-day IRPs, two 24-hour driving prohibitions and a 12-hour driving prohibition.
Eight vehicles, including a school bus, were impounded. In total, nine impaired drivers were taken off the roads in Fernie that day; all had attended the Summer Solstice Party.
The weather that Sunday afternoon was stunning and many families, children and mountain bikers were out enjoying the outdoors. The route taken by the majority of drivers leaving the event also included driving past a busy spray park outside of the Fernie Aquatic Centre. The alarmingly high number of impaired drivers leaving one specific event in Fernie is unprecedented and constituted a public safety risk to the residents of the Elk Valley.
The social media sites advertising the Summer Solstice Party, organizers requested attendees “Don’t Drink and Drive” and to “Party Safe Everyone” however some people clearly chose to disregard this message.
Elk Valley RCMP wish to remind Elk Valley residents that police are actively looking for impaired drivers, the penalties are severe and impaired drivers will be caught.
Sgt. Will Thien,
Interim Detachment Commander,
Elk Valley Detachment
