Vernon Man Arrested After Impaired Incident

A Vernon man is facing charges after a police pursuit of a suspected impaired driver in Kelowna and Lake Country.

A Honda Civic was seen driving erratically on the highway in Kelowna around 10:30 this morning, with police stopping the vehicle near Leathead Road.

“During the officer’s initial interaction with the driver, he detected obvious signs and symptoms that the man’s ability to operate his vehicle in a safe manner was grossly affected by an intoxicating substance,” says Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey. “Within moments of being stopped the suspect put his vehicle into gear and fled northbound on the highway toward Lake Country.”

Police did not pursue the vehicle on the ground, but monitored it from the air using an RCMP plane.

The driver managed to avoid two spike belts before hitting a third, deflating his tires and bringing his car to a stop, near Oceola Road in Lake Country.

A 34 year Vernon man — who was alone in the car — was taken into custody, and police seized illicit drugs during the arrest.

“A demand has been made to the driver who has since been taken to the Kelowna Regional RCMP Detachment for testing,” says O’Donaghey.  “A specially trained drug recognition expert with the Kelowna RCMP Municipal Traffic Section has been called upon to conduct a Drug Influence Evaluation.”