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Columbia Valley RCMP Report
By Sgt. Bob Vatamaniuck
During the past week Columbia Valley RCMP responded to about 60 calls for service. The following is a small but interesting sample of those calls.
Roll over crash south of Windermere
On June 14, at about 6:30 a.m., RCMP received a report of a motor vehicle incident on Highway 93/95 south of Windermere.
It was reported that BC Ambulance was on the way to a single vehicle roll over where medical attention was requested. By the time the RCMP had arrived the driver and ambulance had already departed for the hospital.
RCMP observed a grey Nissan Murano in the ditch of the west side of the road; the Nissan was on its roof. Tire tracks in the mud and ditch suggested that the Nissan was heading south, crossed the fog line, drove into the ditch, and flipped. The temperature was above zero degrees Celsius but it was raining steadily, and the roads were quite wet with some pooling.
After conducting a scene examination and speaking to witnesses the RCMP attended the hospital and spoke with the driver and lone occupant. The driver confirmed that she was heading south and that it was raining steady; consequently the roads were wet and she may have hydroplaned causing her to lose control of the vehicle. The loss of control caused her to cross into the northbound lane. She then over corrected and spun out of control causing the eventual roll.
AC stolen before installed
During the morning of June 15, Columbia Valley RCMP received a call from a local contractor who reported that the night before someone had taken an air conditioner that he was planning to install into a house in Invermere. RCMP attended the residence and spoke with the contractor who stated that the air conditioner had been sitting in the front yard bolted to a pallet.
Sometime during the evening of June 14 someone had removed it off of the pallet and stole it. RCMP spoke to some neighbours who reported that they had seen some headlights of a truck backed into the driveway sometime after 10 p.m. RCMP are asking that if anyone has any information, or has been recently offered a great deal on a new air-conditioner, to contact the detachment or Crimestoppers.
Impaired driver had baby in vehicle
During the late morning hours of June 17 Columbia Valley RCMP received a report of a possible intoxicated driver east of the Radium Hot Springs pool, headed west into the Village of Radium Hot Springs. The caller relayed that the vehicle was being driven quite erratically and almost hit a flag person working in the construction zone.
Police arrived a short time later and discovered the vehicle at a gas station in Radium Hot Springs. As police conducted the investigation into who was driving, the witnesses and passengers informed the police that the driver was the person changing a baby occupant’s diaper.
When she was done changing the child, RCMP approached her and asked if she was the driver; she replied that she was the driver at the time of the event. It was obvious to the investigator that the female was also intoxicated through the smell of liquor and several other indicators. In conversation, she admitted to having two drinks before driving. For the safety of the public, as well as the occupants, the RCMP member demanded that the driver provide breath samples into an approved screening device. The breath samples proved a FAIL reading. As a consequence, her driver’s licence was seized for 90 days and the vehicle towed and impounded for 30 days.
Driver plows Nissan into bank wall
On June 18 at 9 p.m., Columbia Valley RCMP received a report of a vehicle driving into the side of the Bank of Montreal in Invermere. Police arrived a short time later to find a Grey Nissan Pathfinder embedded in the exterior west wall of the bank. RCMP then spoke with the 80-year-old driver and was advised that he was pulling into the parking spot when his foot slipped off the brake and onto the accelerator when he went to park at the bank. Invermere Fire Rescue attended to ensure the wall was structurally sound. There were no injuries and alcohol was not a factor. RCMP is working with ICBC to determine continued driver ability/safety.
