By Cpl. Grant Simpson

This past week was another busy one for the Columbia Valley RCMP, responding to 70 calls for service. Some of the more interesting are outlined below.

Vehicle stolen from secure compound

Columbia Valley RCMP June 24 received a complaint of a stolen vehicle that had occurred at the Rocky Mountain School District Maintenance Facility in the Invermere Industrial Park. The complainant reported that he had been storing a Jeep within the compound as he had been doing some work on it. Sometime overnight the Jeep had been stolen from the compound.

The complainant did not have any suspects or witnesses. The keys for the 1994 Green Jeep Cherokee were left in the centre console and it had $50 gas in the tank. The complainant advised that the vehicle did not have active insurance but did have B.C. plates attached.

Police attended and viewed the surveillance footage. It showed two unidentified persons entering the compound through a vehicle gate. They then walk to the rear of the building and enter the Jeep. At 3:51 a.m. they start the Jeep and leave through the same gate and close it upon their exit. No other vehicles were observed in the area. The Jeep was last seen travelling toward Invermere. They gained access to the locked gate by removing a bolt that had been holding the lock latch together. This incident is still under investigation.

Hydroplane accident in KNP

On June 24 Columbia Valley RCMP was dispatched to a single vehicle MVI on Highway 93 in Kootenay National Park. Reports indicated that there was a single vehicle involved with no injuries.

Police attended and approximately nine km into Kootenay National Park, just before the Kootenay lookout, came upon a single white vehicle facing eastbound in the eastbound right travel lane.

Police spoke with a 26-year-old Saskatchewan female who advised she had been driving her Chrysler 300 and had lost control while travelling west into Radium Hot Springs. She stated that she was travelling west and came to a sharp curve to which she slowed down but the curve was sharper than she had thought and due to wet road conditions, lost control and began to hydroplane. She advised that she fishtailed through the corner, spun out 180 degrees and came to a stop against the eastbound cement barrier.

The vehicle’s airbags deployed and she was wearing her seatbelt and did not sustain any injuries. The vehicle sustained major frame damage and is most likely a write off. No violation ticket was issued as wet, slick road conditions and sharp curve made for a near impossible situation to recover from.

DUI at Radium

On June 25, a Columbia Valley RCMP officer was travelling northbound on Highway 93/95 when they noted a northbound vehicle ahead travelling at approximately 105 km/h cross the centre line. The vehicle was a white Ford van.

Police initiated a traffic stop on Highway 93/95 in downtown Radium Hot Springs. Police spoke with driver who had immediately lit a cigarette – an old trick! The driver, a 50-year-old Edgewater man, advised that he was coming from a music gig in Fairmont Hot Springs. Police asked him if he had consumed any alcohol at the gig to which he replied he’d had two beers. Police read the driver an ASD demand and two samples of his breath were obtained from the driver using two separate ASDs both registering a ‘fail reading and shown to the driver. The driver’s BCDL was seized for 90 days and the required documents issued. The vehicle was impounded for 30 days. A 90-Day Immediate Roadside Prohibition was issued and explained to the driver. The driver and his passengers were transported home by a wife.

Article Share