On the afternoon of Aug. 2, Chase RCMP responded to several reports reports of a man driving a red pickup truck with no license plates attached.
Police located the vehicle driving on Foort road in Pritchard at approximately 5:15 p.m. According to an RCMP press release, the vehicle was being driven by a man who was known to police. RCMP officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but it fled.
Chase RCMP said other motorists had to drive off the road to avoid a collision with the fleeing truck; they broke off the chase due to public safety concerns.
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At approximately 10 p.m. that same evening, RCMP received a report of a head-on collision on Pinantan Pritchard Road.
“Police determined the red pickup which had fled from police earlier was again being driven in a careless manner in the middle of the road colliding head on with a white Dodge pickup,” reads a Chase RCMP press release. “The driver, and lone occupant, of the red truck fled the scene.”
The two men who were in the white truck at the time of the crash were transported to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The RCMP determined the red truck was reported stolen to the Salmon Arm RCMP detachment the previous night.
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The search for the driver who fled the scene of the accident was assisted by members of the Kamloops RCMP and the police dog service. With information from numerous area residents, the police located the man suspected of causing the crash several kilometres from the collision scene.
Daniel James Phillip Blackburn, a 37-year-old Pritchard Resident has been charged with possession of stolen property over $5,000, driving while disqualified, fleeing police and dangerous operation of a vehicle causing bodily harm.
Blackburn is in custody ahead of an Aug. 6 appearance in Kamloops Provincial Court.
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