Alcohol was a factor in a single-vehicle incident late Wednesday night.
According to Comox Valley RCMP Const. Landers, a vehicle was travelling south down Fitzgerald Ave. past 21 st. when it struck a power pole, followed by a boat parked in a yard. The boat then hit a lower window of the home which had at least four occupants.
No one was injured in the incident.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time and I’ve never seen a boat go through a house before,” said Landers.
The male driver of the vehicle was released on the scene, but the cause and circumstance of the accident are still under investigation.
BC Hydro were on scene assessing the damage to the power pole.
Homeowner Courtney Houston was just getting ready to go to bed in the room she shares with her two-year-old daughter when she heard screeching outside.
“I flew over her as soon as I heard the screeching, and looked out the window and saw a boat coming towards me, and I just kind of [landed] over her to shield her from all the glass and what debris I could,” Houston explained.
“I saw the boat coming towards me through my bedroom window. It was like [something] out of a horror story.”
Houston said the boat crashed through her home and landed less than three feet away from her daughter’s head. She noted her daughter is “a little shaken up” but is okay after being check by paramedics.
Houston said the police informed her that the driver of the vehicle was impaired.
“She [officer] said that he blew over and that it was an ongoing investigation,” said Houston, who added the driver was released at the scene. “It’s kind of a little troubling [that the driver was not taken into custody]. It’s pretty hard looking at the damage that has been done, and looking at all the people that have been affected… [RCMP] are supposed to serve and protect our community and this doesn’t feel like it is a ‘serve and protect’ situation. But I understand it’s an ongoing investigation, and hopefully there is more to come of it.”
A Comox Valley RCMP statement regarding the incident confirmed that “a 90-day immediate roadside prohibition (IRP) was served to the driver, several violation tickets were issued and the vehicle was impounded for 30 days,” but confirmed there will be no criminal charges laid.
“The IRP Program is a Provincial Program administered under the Motor Vehicle Act. Criminal charges are not being considered for this particular incident. The driver was issued a violation ticket for no driver’s licence, along with the IRP.”
