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Police in the BC Interior had their hands full when dealing with a dangerous suspect.
According to RCMP, on Thursday at 5:17 pm, officers attempted to stop a Mercedes Sedan that was travelling 145 km/h on Hwy 97 near Edwards Road, just south of Quesnel. The car failed to stop and sped away at speeds that were estimated to be over 180 km/h.
As the Mercedes entered Quesnel, a second police vehicle tried to pull it over. The suspect drove into oncoming lanes in a construction zone to get away.
Witnesses reported that the driver continued to drive dangerously down Dragon Lake Hill, swerving in and out of traffic at a high rate of speed.
Finally, after utilizing two spike belts on the north side of the Quesnel Bridge, officers deflated the Mercedes' tires. The driver continued to try and flee, colliding with two civilian vehicles before getting lodged between a dump truck and a pickup.
After the driver reversed his car and rammed into police, he was tasered and pepper-sprayed before being arrested. A female passenger was also taken into custody at this time.
Following the arrest, police found a large amount of drugs in the car. Officers then seized a loaded 9 mm pistol with a silencer, 723 grams of fentanyl, 659 grams of methamphetamine, 445 grams of cocaine and approximately $20,000.
"To put the drug seizure into perspective, cocaine is sold at the street level in half grams and meth and fentanyl are sold at the microgram amounts. When you do the math, this seizure took a lot of doses of harmful drugs off the streets," said Cpl. Matt Isaak. "The fact that this man had a loaded handgun with a silencer is also disturbing and speaks to the level of violence associated to the drug trade."
Both the 33-year-old man and the 30-year-old woman received minor injuries from the incident. The suspects are not from the Quesnel area and are facing several drug and firearm charges.
"The driver of the Mercedes was reckless and had a complete disregard for the safety of others on the road. Spike belts were used to stop the vehicle before it entered the downtown core as it was the end of the business day where there was a high volume of pedestrian and vehicle traffic," said Sgt. Richard Weseen. "After the vehicle was disabled, the driver was goal-oriented to escape, colliding with civilian and police vehicles. We are fortunate he was stopped before he seriously injured anyone."
Additional charges of flight from police, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and breaching a release order are also being recommended. Anyone with video of the incident is urged to contact Quesnel RCMP at (250)992-9211.
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