RCMP catch up with driver who failed to stop for a South Okanagan roadside check

PENTICTON – An Okanagan Falls resident won’t be driving for several months following an incident on Highway 97 south of Penticton on Friday.

A man driving a SUV along Highway 97 at about 11:20 p.m., Friday, Dec.11, failed to stop for a Christmas Counterattack road check at Gillespie Flats, three kilometres south of the intersection of Highway 97 and Highway 3A.

According to Sgt. Harold Hallett of South Okanagan Traffic Services, the vehicle was discovered abandoned by police a short time later at the junction of Lakehill Road and Highway 97 in Kaleden.

The SUV had suffered damage to the front driver’s side wheel and had been abandoned in the middle of the highway.

Members of the Kaleden Volunteer Fire Department were also called to the scene. Police and firefighters engaged in a search, but did not find any sign of the driver.

Police located the registered owner at a residence in Okanagan Falls, charging the person with having no insurance and failing to stop for police.

Hallett said the motorist also received a five month driving prohibition for matters unrelated to the incident.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad at sarstad@infonews.ca or call 250-488-3065. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.