A 28-year-old Winnipegger faces a lot of prices together with drunk driving, harmful driving and refusing to offer a blood pattern following a collision involving a number of autos which shut down a busy stretch of Portage Avenue close to the west Perimeter Freeway on Friday afternoon. Police mentioned at occasions the car drove towards site visitors on Portage, reaching speeds as much as 150 km/h.
Heading eastbound on Portage from Headingley, the dashing sedan rear-ended one other eastbound car close to St. Charles Avenue, forcing it to roll into the westbound lanes the place it collided with two different autos. The incident has police reminding that impaired driving can occur at any time of the yr however the penalties stay the identical.
“For those who do select to drive impaired, you’ll face the implications and it’s a must to acknowledge you could and can harm harmless folks,” mentioned police spokesperson Const. Jay Murray on Saturday.
A complete of seven folks have been taken to hospital together with one with critical accidents. It’s believed that every one have been handled and launched. The injured included the suspect driver and his two passengers who tried to flee on foot however have been rapidly detained.
“I’ve spoken to a lot of officers in our Visitors Division who’re very grateful that nobody else was extra significantly injured given the speeds of this car,” mentioned Murray. “At just a few factors, it was driving towards site visitors and it was a violent collision. Anybody who was on the scene or have seen photos can attest to the injury that was brought about. As well as there have been a lot of unsuspecting individuals who have been touring in the other way on Portage Avenue who have been now concerned in a violent collision.
“This simply speaks to the hazards of impaired driving.”
The suspect additionally faces two Freeway Visitors Act offences together with driving with no licence. He was detained in custody.
The accident considerably tied up site visitors on Portage till properly into Friday night.
“It’s a reminder of how fast one thing like this could occur,”mentioned Murray. “On the identical time, that is one o’clock on a Friday afternoon and I don’t assume too many individuals count on impaired drivers to be on the highway at the moment. However the actuality is impaired drivers might be on the highway at any time. That is an instance of that.”
This investigation is constant by members of the Visitors Division. Investigators are on the lookout for attainable witnesses to this collision that haven’t but spoken with police. Anybody with info that will help investigators is requested to name 204-986-7085 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-TIPS (8477).
Murray mentioned that a lot of witnesses approached the primary officer on the scene who was unable to speak to them at the moment.
“So in case you had a quick dialog with an officer on the scene and also you didn’t present a full assertion of your account of what occurred, we encourage you to contact our Visitors Division,” he mentioned.
gdawkins@postmedia.com
Twitter: @SunGlenDawkins
