An Ridge Meadows RCMP officer helped take a drunk driver off the road on Sunday while off duty in Agassiz.
Cpl. Todd Balaban saw a car narrowly miss hitting several vehicles before the driver stopped at the Sasquatch Inn.
Balaban then placed the man under arrest for impaired driving. Police allege the driver became uncooperative and refused to comply with Cpl. Balaban, so a Vancouver firefighter stepped in to help him restrain the man until a RCMP officer from the Upper Fraser Valley Regional Detachment arrived.
“Even though police enjoy their time off, we are always alert to our surroundings. In this case, our police officer felt the safety of the public was in jeopardy by the way the man was driving, and that he had to stop this from continuing,” said Cpl. Alanna Dunlop, with Ridge Meadows RCMP.
Police also thanked the off-duty firefighter for helping Cpl. Balaban.
Teen speeds in dad’s car
A Maple Ridge man had his car impounded for seven days after police caught his teenage daughter speeding excessively while driving it on Saturday.
While monitoring traffic on Lougheed Highway near 105th Avenue, Ridge Meadows RCMP clocked the 17-year-old driving more than 50 kilometres over the posted speed limit.
Police were in the area after receiving several reports about speeding vehicles.
The teen was also fined $368.
Drunk drivers
Two drunk drivers were arrested by police Friday night in Maple Ridge.
The first driver was seen leaving Rooster’s Country Cabaret around 10 p.m. The 31-year-old man from Pitt Meadows was stopped a short distance away on McMyn Road, where officers noted he appeared to be impaired by alcohol.
Around 11:30 p.m., a 39-year-old Maple Ridge man was stopped after he failed to obey a traffic light on Lougheed Highway at 223rd Street.
In both cases, breath samples were analyzed at 1.5 times the legal limit of .08 per cent. Both drivers were released, but are scheduled to appear in court at a later date to face charges of impaired driving.
