A Duncan woman was arrested and charged with multiple Criminal Code offences after a truck hit a vehicle, driver, objects and walls, then fled from police in the early morning hours of Nov. 23.
Rhiannon Midgley, 38, was arrested after the North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP responded to a report of a truck that ran into a parked vehicle, then proceeded to drive erratically, hitting the driver of the parked vehicle.
Officers from the nearby detachment and from the Integrated Road Safety Unit rushed to the parking lot of the Cowichan Commons shopping centre north of Duncan to find “a truck doing circles in the parking lot, ramming stationary objects as well as buildings of businesses in the mall,” said a police report issued by the North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP.
“Officers made multiple attempts to stop the vehicle from exiting the parking lot to avoid it from getting onto a public roadway. The vehicle made its way to the Trans Canada Highway where it continued south into Duncan.”
Just minutes later, the vehicle was spotted and stopped near Government and Kenneth Streets in downtown Duncan.
Midgley was arrested and charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, flight from a peace officer while operating a motor vehicle, two counts of fail to stop at the scene of an accident and failing to comply with a court order. Charges for impaired operation of a motor vehicle are also being sought following the full investigation of a specialized drug recognition expert.
“Thankfully no one received serious injuries from this incident and the person responsible is being held accountable for her actions,” said North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP detachment commander Insp. Chris Bear. “Driving while impaired, be it by drug or alcohol, is a serious offence, and this incident should serve as an eye opener for those who think that their actions while intoxicated carry no consequences.”
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