Police responded to approximately 20 reported vehicle collisions in the area in the last week.
Accident in town
On Dec. 26, Police responded to a two vehicle collision on Hwy 95 and 9th Street S. when a pickup made a left turn in front of a sedan. The pickup sustained minor damage, however the sedan needed to be towed. There were no injuries reported in this incident.
Fatal accident west of Golden
On Dec. 29, Police, Fire and EHS responded to a two vehicle collision approximately 5 kms west of Golden. Two commercial vehicles collided – one left blocking the entire highway and the second sent over the side of the road with debris coming to rest on the railway below. One driver died at the scene while the second was airlifted to Calgary by STARS. Police continue to investigate the collision which resulted in a road and temporary rail closure.
Not loving it
Police responded to a disturbance at the Mcdonald’s drive through shortly after 2am on Dec. 29. The driver of a newer Chevrolet pickup was frustrated waiting in the drive thru and nudged the vehicle in front of him waiting for their order. A verbal argument ensued. The suspect left before police arrived and is described as a Caucasian male 30 yrs old, slim with brown hair.
A vehicle which had been stolen out of Olds Alberta was tracked to the Revelstoke and Golden area. Officers were notified on Monday morning the vehicle was travelling back to Golden from Revelstoke, after police there had initiated a stop with the vehicle. The driver failed to comply and departed at a high rate of speed. Golden officers located the vehicle abandoned on a dead end road west of Golden, the suspect(s) departed in a second unidentified vehicle. The recovered vehicle was examined for fingerprints and the investigation continues.
New Year’s Eve collision
Police responded to a single vehicle collision 9 kms east of Golden. The driver was travelling east transitioning from the two lanes in the canyon to the four lanes at the base of the Yoho Bridge. The driver failed to realize the division of the lanes and struck the centre barrier of the bridge. The traffic was busy at the time and the scene was quickly cleared. The driver and lone occupant sustained minor injuries.
Pair of GADSAR calls
Still on Dec. 31, two search and rescue calls were reported to the RCMP within minutes of each other. A backcountry skier was injured in the Ice Falls Area. On the second call, two young adults had skied out of bounds and in towards Cougar Canyon. With the terrain being extremely steep and the young woman completely unprepared for the backcountry, the pair required the assistance of Golden and District Search and Rescue. GADSAR successfully extracted the injured skier and the two out of bounds skiers without further incident.
New Year parties
Officers were kept busy New Year’s Eve with a number of alcohol related incidents.
RCMP assisted staff at a local establishment with an intoxicated subject refusing to leave. The Prince George resident continued to resist leaving and was subsequently arrested and was later released when sober. The subject was charged under the Liquor Act.
A group of intoxicated individuals were located walking along 10th Ave South in Golden. Two of the subjects were openly consuming alcohol and were issued violations tickets under the Liquor Act.
Police responded to a disturbance at a local motel. The investigation revealed the tenant had reported some money stolen and argued with friends while making accusations as to who stole the money. The person suspected to have taken the cash left before police arrived. The tenant advised that they would not be pursuing charges at this time.
RCMP also investigated a 911 disconnect from a cellular phone. Upon tracking down the owner of the phone it was learned they had called for an Ambulance as someone had been injured while playing out on the Golden outdoor rink. No further police involvement was required.
Police responded to a reported collision at the Golden and District Hospital. It was reported that a vehicle had driven into the hospital. Police arrived to find a pickup truck had rammed into one of the centre supports on the newly constructed timber frame entrance to the hospital. No one was injured in the incident. The owner of the vehicle was located inside the hospital wandering around. Alcohol is suspected to be a factor in the incident and police are continuing to investigate.
Officers responded to two separate reported disturbances, one at a residence and the other at a local motel. In each case, a physical altercation had taken place and three people were arrested for assault. Two of the victims were taken to hospital for treatment and released.
