UPDATE: Driver detained after commotion in downtown Vernon

VERNON – Police stopped a truck and detained the driver in dramatic fashion in downtown Vernon this morning.

RCMP received a report of an erratic driver heading northbound out of Lake Country on Highway 97 Wednesday morning, Sept. 23, around 10 a.m., Const. Jocelyn Noseworthy says.

“We were getting updates from other drivers that it was striking the meridian,” Noseworthy says.

The vehicle also side-swiped a number of vehicles as it travelled down the highway, she says.

As police were heading out from Vernon to intercept the driver, Noseworthy says officers ‘happened upon him’ at the intersection of Highway 97 and 25 Avenue by Polson Park.

“The vehicle wasn’t moving very well at that point,” Noseworthy says. “It had pretty heavy front end damage, we think from when it struck an F350 with a box on the back.”

According to witnesses, the driver was dragged from the vehicle and arrested. Noseworthy says officers ‘managed to get him out of his vehicle’ and are keeping him detained. She says he has been cooperative with police.

“We’re trying to figure out if this was a medical issue or related to something else,” Noseworthy says.

She says the incident presented danger to both police, and the general public.

“Any time we get a vehicle striking other vehicles and you find him in the middle of a lot of other traffic, it’s considered a high risk situation,” Noseworthy says.

The man, whose age and city of residence has not been released, is being detained for ‘investigative purposes’ and Noseworthy says charges are possible.

“He will be facing some sort of repercussion for what happened today,” she says.

Given the pattern of erratic driving, Noseworthy says it’s fortunate no one was hurt.

“We lucked out, there were no reported injuries, just a lot of property damage,” she says.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infonews.ca or call 250-309-5230. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

— This story was updated at 12:23 p.m., Sept. 23, 2015 to include information from Const. Jocelyn Noseworthy.