A tip from a concerned citizen led to the arrest of a man who RCMP say was driving erratically on Sooke Road and nearly missed a collision with a fuel tanker – and it was all captured on camera.
The complainant recorded the incident with a dash-mounted video camera in their vehicle and updated police dispatch.
Officers were called to an area near Sooke and Connie roads just before 8 a.m. last Thursday after reports of a vehicle swerving on one side of the road to the other. There was a near miss head-on collision with an eastbound fuel tanker.
Police stopped the vehicle as it entered a construction zone near Harbourview Road. The driver was arrested for drunk driving. Police found a quantity of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia in the vehicle.
A Victoria man, 44, faces charges of impaired driving , dangerous driving, and possession of a controlled substance. He is scheduled to appear in Colwood court on June 28.
The arrest comes as Sooke RCMP are putting a greater emphasis on drunk driving enforcement. Police charged 18 people with drunk driving through the first two months of the year.
“Members of the Sooke RCMP continue to clamp down on impaired drivers in Sooke and through to Port Renfrew,” said RCMP Staff Sgt. Jeff McArthur.
“Reports from members of the public such as this case of impaired and erratic drivers on Sooke Road are so important to us and come in on an almost daily basis. They are treated as a high priority.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 250-642-5241 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.