Public assists police in apprehending alleged drunk driver
By Kyra Hoggan
Photo: The broken trees and grass where the truck went over the embankment. According to RCMP Cpl. Deb Postnikoff, “To get the full effect one must really go to the top of the hill and look down…his journey through the dense wood, though the field and then driving into the house is amazing. It is a wonder the driver is alive and no one innocent was injured.”
A 44-year-old Fruitvale man will likely be facing impaired driving charges after crashing his truck down an embankment in Ootischenia last night. Castlegar RCMP Cpl. Dan Pollock said the driver lost control going down Aaron Road, at which point the truck jumped a concrete barricade and crashed through trees down a steep embankment. “Once at the bottom, the driver drove the truck through a back yard until he collided with a house on Columbia Road,” Pollock said. “The driver then fled down Columbia Road and was apprehended a short distance later, with the help of the public.” The owners of the residence were not at home at the time, and police are still awaiting damage estimates. Pollock says the driver was taken to hospital and treated for only minor injuries. “Alcohol and speed are factors in the incident.”
