A Parksville man faces a list of charges after driving a stolen vehicle into a police cruiser before fleeing.
Oceanside RCMP responded to an area near Higson Crescent and Seacroft Road in Qualicum Beach after receiving a report around 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 23 of a suspicious parked vehicle with two people sleeping inside.
An officer approached the vehicle and began to speak to the man in the driver’s seat, when suddenly the driver started the vehicle and drove off at high speed. He narrowly missed the officer and struck a police cruiser before fleeing, according to a release from Oceanside RCMP. The vehicle was seen travelling northbound on Highway 19A.
Oceanside RCMP, Comox Valley RCMP, Police Dog Services, BC Highway Patrol and Air 8 searched for the vehicle. Police received numerous reports of sightings around Courtenay, Union Bay, Bowser and Horne Lake and the vehicle was located near 3200 Island Highway and Van Isle Road in Qualicum Bay around 12:45 p.m., police said.
A 30-year-old woman was arrested. The male driver, Mark Mann, 41, who abandoned the vehicle, was arrested after a short police dog chase, according to RCMP.
“The vehicle was determined to be have been stolen from Regina, Sask. on Oct. 1. Mark Mann was found to have outstanding warrants for fraud and prohibited driving” said Sgt. Shane Worth of the Oceanside RCMP.
The damage to the marked police vehicle was minimal and there were no injuries to anyone involved in the incident, police said.
Mann was held in custody before appearing in court on Nov. 24 to deal with the warrants, as well as new charge recommendations of hit and run, dangerous driving, obstruction, possession of stolen property and prohibited driving. The passenger was released to appear in court at a later date, according to RCMP.
“The Oceanside RCMP thanks members of the public for reporting suspicious occurrences in their neighbourhoods and as demonstrated, today’s call to police resulted in the arrest of a wanted person and the recovery of a stolen vehicle,” Worth said.
