A stolen semi-truck ended up in the Fraser River after a dramatic and dangerous police chase through Langley and Surrey. Kristen Robinson reports.
A police pursuit of a semi-truck through Langley and Surrey on Wednesday night left a trail of destruction in its wake.
Langley RCMP said the semi-truck was stolen and that police sighted it in the area of 24th Avenue and 156th Street around 7:30 p.m.
Shortly after midnight, officers attempted to pull the truck over but the 40-year-old driver allegedly began to intentionally ram police cruisers.
“These were deliberate attempts to immobilize a police car, and he fled from police from that traffic stop,” Langley. RCMP Sgt. Zynal Sharoom told Global News.
One cruiser was severely damaged but the officer only suffered some bumps and bruises.
A spike belt was deployed and damaged one of the truck’s tires, however the driver continued on at high speed, eventually making his way into the Bridgeview area of Surrey where a second spike belt was used, popping a few more tires.
The driver then intentionally steered the truck into the Fraser River near a public dock, police said.
“This pursuit continued into Surrey into the Bridgeview area, at which point this driver took the semi-truck through a public dock and over an embankment into the Fraser River,” Sharoom said.
He then fled the vehicle on foot but was eventually arrested nearby around 2 a.m. after a coordinated police search. The suspect remains in custody and no charges have been laid at this time.
Sharoom said the driver is known to police.
He added that it was an issue of public safety to stop the driver and get the truck off the road.
“It could have been a very harrowing experience, you know, trying to see a semi-truck blow past you at a very high rate of speed. You know, its tires were deflated so there must have been sparks flying at that time and multiple police cars.”
source & photo: Global News
