BC cops clock Alberta driver at nearly triple the speed limit

BC highway cops couldn’t keep up with a high-speed Audi in the Kootenays, but they still found their culprit, who happened to be unlicensed and intoxicated.

Officers were on patrol near Fairmont Hot Springs earlier this month when they saw the car travelling at 230 km/h, nearly triple the posted speed limit.

Though BC Highway Patrol couldn’t catch it, they didn’t let the driver get away after blowing through an 80 km/h zone, according to a news release.

“Not every investigation ends with flashing lights and a traffic stop,” BC Highway Patrol’s Cranbrook commander, Sgt. Brett Reiben said in the release.

With help from the public in tracking it down, police found the car “a short time later,” parked and unoccupied at a campground.

“This is a great example of persistent police work and good information from the public that held a driver accountable for his dangerous driving behaviour,” Reiben said.

A 20-year-old man from Alberta was identified as the driver, who police believed to be drunk. He had more than 0.05 per cent blood-alcohol concentration, according to a breath test, adding a list of expenses to his camping trip.

He was given a three-day driving prohibition, tickets for excessive speeding and driving without a licence and a seven-day vehicle impoundment. The fines and towing fees totalled $959, according to police.