Suspect nabbed after high-speed chase
Published Saturday October 25th, 2008
Driver evades police roadblock, speeds reach 160 km/h
A 24-year-old Grand Falls man who allegedly led RCMP on a high-speed chase on Highway 2 (the Trans-Canada Highway), down Shediac Road and into downtown Moncton is cooling his heels in jail this morning awaiting charges of dangerous driving.
Yesterday morning's wild chase was right out of an action movie as the driver raced along the highway at speeds of over 160 kilometres per hour (100 mph), evaded a spiked belt roadblock and raced through busy city streets before dumping the souped-up Dodge Neon at an apartment building and scaling a chain link fence. He was tracked down by police dogs and arrested inside a nearby residence.
Codiac RCMP spokesman Cpl. Mike Gaudet said the man is originally from the Grand Falls area but has been living in Moncton at a residence near the area where the car was parked. He will face charges of dangerous driving and failing to stop for police. More charges could be laid depending on what is found inside of the car.
The chase began around 9:30 a.m. yesterday on the Trans-Canada Highway near Havelock, west of Moncton.
Cpl. Rick Tessier of the RCMP J Division's Roving Traffic Unit said officers spotted the metallic copper-coloured Neon travelling in the eastbound lane of Highway 2 at more than 145 kilometres per hour (90 mph). When the officer gave chase, the driver put the hammer down and accelerated to about 160 km/h. The posted speed limit on the highway is 110 km/h (68 mph).
The RCMP officer in pursuit put out a radio call for assistance. RCMP set up a spiked belt on the highway as it loops around Moncton. A spiked belt rolls out like a carpet and is designed to puncture the tires of any vehicle that runs over it. The driver somehow managed to swerve around the belt and keep going toward Moncton. He veered off the highway and headed down the Shediac Road, still at a high rate of speed.
Tessier said the car went through a construction zone and officers decided to shut down the pursuit on the highway because it was passing through a construction zone and getting too dangerous. They turned off lights and sirens but continued to follow the vehicle at a reduced pace in the interest of public safety.
The highway patrol unit radioed ahead and put Codiac Regional RCMP on alert, thinking the man might return to his residence on Mountain Road near the Moncton Museum. RCMP vehicles prowled the streets of downtown, talking to each other by radio and keeping an eye peeled for the metallic orange Neon.
The exact path of the vehicle wasn't known yesterday, but it is believed that it travelled along Shediac Road and at some point was on Elmwood Drive. There was a report that the speeding vehicle struck at least one other car during the chase. Police could not confirm this yesterday.
Tessier could not say exactly how long the chase lasted.
"When you're in the middle of a chase, you don't look at your watch."
The Times & Transcript, alerted to the chase, was also looking and waiting for the car to make an appearance. Veteran photographer Greg Agnew was sitting at the traffic lights at the intersection of Wheeler Boulevard and Lewisville Road when he spotted the car moving fast. He grabbed his camera and was able to get several photos of the car racing along through the intersection near the Taylor Ford dealership on Lewisville Road.
Around 10 a.m., the car was found parked next to the King George Apartments building at 149 Lester Avenue, just behind the Moncton Museum on Mountain Road. Several RCMP cars rolled into position near the car. An RCMP dog caught a scent immediately and the chase continued on foot. The man was apprehended at 10:11 a.m. at a nearby residence.
The car was found in a small gravel driveway that is bordered by a chain link fence about six feet high. It wasn't known for sure if the man scaled the fence in his run for freedom.
Observers looking at the car could detect the tell-tale smell of a very hot engine. There was no apparent damage to the tires, indicating they did not hit the spiked belt. There was a dent in the right rear quarter panel of the car. Ironically, there was a pair of handcuffs hanging from the rear view mirror.
When police opened the driver's side door, it was easy to see that the internal plastic door panel had been completely removed to reveal the hollow interior of the door. The panel was found inside the trunk. There was no sign of any weapons or anything else inside the car or the trunk. Tessier said a check of the plates indicated the car had not been stolen.
RCMP would not speculate on why the man refused to stop and tried to outrun the police. The car was towed away to the impound yard for forensic investigation and the man was taken into custody.
Gaudet said he would likely be charged today.
Tessier praised the team work of the J Division Traffic Unit and the Codiac Regional RCMP for quick work in apprehending the man without any injuries or property damage. He also praised the Times & Transcript photographer for capturing an image of the car during the chase.
RCMP officers at the scene praised each other for the team work as well.
"It's like a hockey team, we all work together," Tessier said. "The RCMP is a big family and this is a good example of how we put everyone together and we apprehended the suspect."
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Comments (7)
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Glad to see they found him, 1 less dangerous driver on the road. IMO, this type of dangerous driving ranks up there with a DUI... he should lose his license.
The work these dogs do is amazing, and they receive very little in the way of recognition.
And to chaotic driver trash like you on the street almost got my boyfriend killed in high speed chase when he was working in nb he almost died. you are new on the comment page. be careful what you put it if you kill someone and brag about it, you can get into a lot of hot water from the comment editor and police remember that nobody liked what you said.