A man from Alberta was arrested near Golden after taking a three-hour drunken joyride through the Rockies.
Golden-Field RCMP officials said a number of calls about a reckless driver along Highway 1 travelling from Kamloops to Golden came in on Friday.
Police said witnesses spotted the vehicle passing illegally, tailgating, and speeding. At one point, police officers clocked the driver going 135 km/h in a 50 km/h zone and 118 km/h in a 60 km/h zone.
Police said the callers described the same truck: a newer, white Ford F150 with bright headlights, black bars lining the box, and an Alberta license plate.
After several attempts to pull the truck over failed, police eventually set up a roadblock near the Quartz Creek snowmobile recreation site, with help from the Emergency Response Team.
Police said the driver was uncooperative but was eventually taken into custody.
The man was well over the legal alcohol limit – he had his vehicle seized pending a search warrant, his license was suspended for 90 days and now faces a number of charges.
“This kind of driving behaviour is simply unacceptable,” said Sgt. Brad Matchett, spokesperson for Golden RCMP’s Highway Patrol Unit. “In addition to the risk posed to police attempting to stop this driver, he put so many other people’s lives at risk.”
Golden police are looking for witnesses or those with dash-cam footage to piece together the man’s drunken trip from Kamloops to Golden.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Golden RCMP Highway Patrol at 250-344-4002.
