Novice driver rolls vehicle, alcohol suspected

KELOWNA – A novice driver faces possible impaired driving charges after rolling his vehicle on Springfield hill in Rutland early Thursday morning.

Three people in their 20’s were traveling east on Springfield Road up the hill around midnight when the driver lost control and hit a light pole. The black SUV rolled once before coming to rest on the side of the road and catching fire.

Brett Thompson lives on the corner of Springfield and Hollywood Road S and says he rushed out of his house when he heard the sound of screeching tires and crunching metal.

“I also heard what I’m pretty sure was the top of the light standard hitting the ground,” he says.

Thompson’s wife called 911 and he ran to check on the occupants. He found two men and one woman already out of the vehicle and a small fire under the front end.

“I ran up and there was one occupant near the vehicle who couldn’t really move,” he says. “He had gotten out of the car on his own so I just kind of helped him hop a short distance away.”

Thompson says the fire started to get bigger so he carried the man, estimated to be in his mid-20’s, to a safe area near the start of Hollywood Rd. S.

“The driver had a cut on his hand and the man I helped couldn’t put any weight on his knee,” he says. “Everybody was fully lucid and conscious.”

Const. Kris Clark says the novice driver had too many occupants in the vehicle and failed a roadside breathalyzer. Because of his injuries he was not taken to the detachment but a blood order was requested from the hospital. 

To contact the reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw at aproskiw@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-0428. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.