A man from Deer Lake has been charged after crashing an allegedly stolen truck at a high rate of speed on the province’s east coast last week.
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The truck had initially been reported as stolen from the Corner Brook area to the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary last Thursday.
According to a press release issued Monday afternoon by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the truck was reported travelling east on the Trans-Canada Highway from Corner Brook Friday.
The tuck was observed by RCMP units travelling at speeds in excess of 180 kilometers per hour and dangerously passing other traffic as it moved from Corner Brook eastward.
To avoid endangering the public, police pulled back at times during the pursuit between Corner Brook to Clarenville.
Between Deep Bight and Adeytown, the truck passed a marked police car parked on the shoulder of the highway at a high rate of speed and struck a guardrail in the westbound lane.
The truck’s tires began shredding and started swerving back and forth across both lanes before losing control and rolling the vehicle twice. The truck ended up in the westbound ditch.
According to Staff-Sgt. Larry Turner, the RCMP’s detachment commander in Clarenville, police had engaged the truck three times in the hour before the crash, which happened at around 4:30 p.m. Friday afternoon.
The 31-year-old man driving the truck was arrested and charged with dangerous driving, possession of stolen property, unsafe storage of firearms and damage over $5,000. Two unsecured firearms were seized from the vehicle.
Turner said the man, who was released from police custody, was not injured in the crash, but was returned to hospital in Corner Brook.
Turner would not elaborate on why the man was required to return to the hospital.
The RNC in Corner Brook confirmed the truck involved was the same one reported stolen from Corner Brook last Thursday.
Const. Shawna Park, the RNC’s media relations officer in Corner Brook, said the investigation into this matter is ongoing and further charges may be warranted.
The man, whose identity was not released, is scheduled to appear on the charges filed by the RCMP at provincial court in Clarenville Oct. 4.
