A 28 year old male from Charlottetown is facing large fines and criminal charges after failing to stop for police in Stratford on Sunday.
At approximately 2:30 PM, the Kings District RCMP received a 911 call from a motorist reporting a vehicle being driven erratically in the Cherry Valley area.
Stratford RCMP observed the suspect vehicle as it came into the town of Stratford, and attempted to stop the vehicle, however the driver sped away turning into a residential subdivision. Police discontinued the attempt to stop the vehicle for public safety reasons, however soon located the vehicle parked at a residence in Stratford.
The male driver of the vehicle was arrested and his vehicle was impounded. The driver is facing charges under the Highway Traffic Act for driving while his licence was suspended, operating an unregistered vehicle, and for driving a vehicle with no insurance, totaling $1225.00 in fines. In addition, the man is facing a criminal charge for Failing to Stop for Police and was released to appear in Provincial Court on April 16th to answer to that charge.
Police want to remind people that driving with no insurance is something you should never do. "All too often we find drivers with no insurance on their vehicles, and in many cases these vehicles are also unregistered and sometimes not safe to be on the road" says Cst. Jamie Parsons with the Stratford RCMP. "Not only is it illegal, it can also have serious consequences if someone is hurt or killed by an uninsured driver" adds Parsons.
The RCMP are encouraging the public to report persons driving vehicles being operated illegally, or by persons who have no valid licence, or insurance. "They do not have the right to be on the road unprotected when the rest of the public are doing their best to drive carefully and paying their insurance premiums to make sure that they and the people around them that share the road are protected in case of a collision" said Cst. Parsons.