Teen with no licence nabbed in Lake Country joyriding in parents’ minivan

A 16-year-old decided to take his parents’ minivan for a drive in Lake Country and got hit with some hefty penalties when he was caught by RCMP.

A minivan sped up behind a police cruiser on Highway 97 south of Pelmewash Parkway at 4:30 a.m. on June 4, according to a BC Highway Patrol press release.

The cruiser caught the van going 160 km/h in a 100 km/h zone and the driver didn’t have a license.

“Many people do not realize that police radar works just as well from behind a police cruiser as it does from the front,” BC Highway Patrol media relations officer Cpl. Michael McLaughlin said in the release. “In this case, the 16-year-old driver had no driver’s licence, and two of his teenage passengers were lying on the back floor of the minivan next to yard tools and a lawn mower.”

The driver got several tickets adding up to $955 including speeding, no driver’s license, too many passengers and a seven-day vehicle impound.

The teen’s parents were called and said their son didn’t have permission to drive the van and another passenger’s parents thought he was at home sleeping, RCMP said.

“This had all the ingredients of an imminent tragedy,” Cpl. McLaughlin said. “Parents, make sure you talk to your kids. Teach them well to help them have a safe summer on B.C. highways.”