Penticton paramedics save life of driver under influence of drugs

PENTICTON – Emergency personnel arriving on the scene of a motor vehicle collision last night in Penticton saved the life of the driver.

Cpl. Don Wrigglesworth says a 2006 Audi driven by a 27-year-old Okanagan Falls man lost control of the vehicle at Government Street and Municipal Avenue in Penticton at around 9:50 p.m. yesterday, June 19.

The vehicle had jumped a curb on Government Street and crashed through a fence in the 500 block of Municipal Avenue.

Wrigglesworth says the driver admitted taking crushed up Percocet pills before getting behind the wheel and going into medical distress. Percocet is the brand name of a drug which is a combination of the opioid oxycodone and acetaminophen.

The B.C. Ambulance crew on scene were able to initiate life-saving measures, Wrigglesworth says. Police later spoke to the man who was alert and cooperative, but upset his clothes had been cut off in order for paramedics to perform lifesaving techniques.

The man was given a 24 hour suspension for driving under the influence of drugs and the Audi — as well as drugs found inside — were seized.

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