Tow truck driver ticketed after crashing into Salmon Arm mall

SALMON ARM – The driver of a tow truck that crashed into a Salmon Arm mall yesterday is facing a charge under the Motor Vehicle Act.

RCMP say the man is facing one charge of driving without due care and attention after the large truck he was using to tow a semi truck crashed into Centenoka Park Mall yesterday, Dec. 4. No one was hurt, but the crash did thousands of dollars in damage.

Cpl. Robert Dean says an exact cause is not known yet, but RCMP believe the driver was distracted. The driver had started the truck and was planning on leaving when the crash happened.

"We have no idea how it was caused because he doesn’t know how it was caused," Dean says.

According to witnesses, the truck crashed into the building not once, but twice, doing more than $30,000 in damage.

"He did some pretty good damage," Dean says. "That’s a new one."

Salmon Arm Fire Department chief Brad Shirley says his crews responded to the crash and helped clean some antifreeze which had spilled from the tow truck. He says he's never seen a crash quite like it.

"It’s very odd," Shirley said.

The Centenoka Park Mall is open today, Dec. 5.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Ashley Legassic or call 250-319-7494 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.