A 36-year-old man was arrested early Sunday after he tried to flee police while driving a stolen car.
Police were alerted to the man after an officer with the Integrated Road Safety Unit attempted to stop a grey Pontiac Grand-Am near Selkirk Avenue and 220th Street around 1.30 a.m.
Ridge Meadows RCMP Cpl. Alanna Dunlop said the driver of the Pontiac accelerated and attempted to flee.
“To the suspect’s dismay, the RCMP traffic services helicopter was in the area,” Dunlop added.
Air One kept watch from above as the man drove to Klassen Place and 125th Avenue, where he jumped out of the car and tried to hide on a property nearby.
“With the helicopter still watching his every move, uniformed police officers moved in and the arrest was made,” Dunlop said.
The car had been reported stolen to Coquitlam RCMP on Jan. 26.
Police also discovered the man was on bail, with conditions that prohibited him from being in a vehicle without the owner present.
The man was remanded in police custody for a court appearance on Monday.
Driver faces impaired charges
A Maple Ridge man faces impaired driving charges for driving drunk on Saturday.
The 45-year-old was stopped by Ridge Meadows RCMP at 11:15 p.m. in the 21000-block of Dewdney Trunk Road.
Samples of the man’s breath were analysed at more than twice the legal limit.
The man now faces charges of driving while impaired, driving with a blood-alcohol level of .08 per cent and driving while prohibited.
The man wasn’t the only driver caught driving while drunk on the weekend.
Five drivers received immediate roadside driving prohibitions for 90 days for blowing ‘fail’ readings into a breathalyser. Three other drivers got three day-suspensions and had their cars impounded for three days for blowing in the ‘warning’ range.
“Incidents of impaired driving must stop,” said Cpl. Alanna Dunlop.
“Ridge Meadows RCMP members will continue to be on the lookout for any driver who has consumed alcohol before driving. Impaired driving is a major contributor of serious crashes and it’s a preventable cause.”
Men injured in crash
Three men were sent to hospital early Saturday after a SUV ran a red light on an approach to the Golden Ears Bridge.
The crash took place at 8:20 a.m. on an entrance ramp to the bridge and Lougheed Highway.
The men were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Both cars, a full-sized Chevrolet and a Chrysler, had to be towed off scene.
Police have charged the driver of the Chevy for failing to stop at a red light.
Woman tries to steal purse
A woman knocked another woman to the ground during an attempted purse-snatching Friday at a bus loop in Maple Ridge.
The woman was waiting for a bus off Edge Street when another woman approached her around 5:45 p.m. and tried to grab her phone.
Ridge Meadows RCMP said the victim resisted and knocked the would-be thief to the ground. The thief got up and reached for the woman’s purse but was unable to steal it.
She fled towards Dewdney Trunk Road.
The suspect is described as a white woman, around 25 years old with a thin build and medium length brown hair. She was wearing a dark puffy jacket, blue jeans and running shoes.
Struck by stolen truck
A man was injured Friday when his car was struck by a stolen pickup truck in Pitt Meadows.
The crash happened 12:45 a.m. at a roundabout on Harris Road at Airport Way.
Police said the man’s car was in the roundabout when a blue 1990 Toyota pickup truck entered the circle and collided with him.
The driver then fled from the pickup truck, running south on Harris Rd. towards Fraser Way.
A police dog was brought in but failed to locate the driver, who was described as tall and wearing a black hooded sweatshirt.
