Accused YouTube motorcycle racer in custody

Victoria man surrenders to Kelowna RCMP on Tuesday

The man believed to have been behind the handlebars of a motorcycle seen in an online video travelling in excess of 300 km/h down the Trans-Canada Highway has turned himself in to police.

Randy George Scott, 25, walked into the Kelowna RCMP detachment Tuesday (July 24) around 7 p.m. Saanich police had issued a warrant for his arrest earlier in the month.

“I know the (tactic) by our investigators was really to turn the heat up,” said Saanich police Sgt. Dean Jantzen, speaking about attempts officers made to contact Scott, through family members, friends, associates and social media.

“The message from our officers who were really trying to make contact him was, ‘Hey, do the right thing. Come and turn yourself in. Let’s deal with this.’ … Whether some of those messages have made it through the grapevine or whether he’s had a change of heart and decided to do the right thing, only time will tell.”

A two-minute video, showing the motorcycle dashboard and the driver’s first-person view weaving in between vehicles, was posted to YouTube on April 8 and quickly came to the attention of police. The digital speedometer shows the bike hitting speeds of 299 km/h.

The bike was seen travelling between Saanich and Langford.

On April 13, after receiving a number of tips about the rider’s identity, police found and seized the motorcycle from an Esquimalt residence. Police say the bike’s owner is Scott’s mother.

The motorcycle, a blue 2006 Yamaha, has since been seized by the province’s Civil Forfeiture Office.

On April 19, Scott’s mother was slapped with three Motor Vehicle Act tickets, totalling $1,449 in fines.

Scott was expected to appear in court in Kelowna on Wednesday. He currently faces one count of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle.

kslavin@saanichnews.com

 

 

Saanich News