Halifax District RCMP has arrested two ATV riders after they refused to stop for police. One of the riders also collided with a police vehicle.
At approximately 9 p.m. on February 25, an RCMP officer driving a police SUV saw an ATV without headlights on moving very quickly on Timberlea Village Pkwy. The ATV moved toward the police SUV from the opposite direction, passing the police vehicle.
In an effort to conduct a traffic stop, the officer turned the SUV's emergency lights on. When that happened, the ATV accelerated faster.
The officer checked to ensure it was safe to turn the SUV around and began a U-turn to do the traffic stop. While this was happening, a second ATV without headlights on collided with the police SUV and fled towards Otter Lake Rd. The officer was not injured.
The officer saw the second rider join the first rider, who had stopped near the entrance of a wooded trail. Both ATVs entered the trail, which ran parallel to Hwy. 103 near Otter Lake Rd.
The officer followed the highway to the trail's exit and saw the ATVs come out of the woods. The ATVs passed the police SUV and drove westbound on the shoulder of the eastbound lanes of Hwy. 103. The officer followed behind, on the shoulder of the road, with lights and sirens to warn eastbound motorists of the situation. The ATVs circled back to the trail entrance that they originally took and entered the trail again.
Additional RCMP officers and the Halifax Regional Police K9 Unit came to assist with the search for the ATV riders. A short time later, police located them with their ATVs idling on the trail near the Exit 3 ramp. Neither of the riders were injured and both riders were arrested without incident. Both ATVs were seized by police.
A 21-year-old man and a 23-year-old man, both from Lower Prospect, face charges of Dangerous Operation of a Conveyance, Flight from a Peace Officer and Motor Vehicle Act offences. The 23-year-old is facing an additional charge of Failure to Stop After an Accident. He was also issued a seven-day driving suspension following a Roadside Screening Device Test.
Both men were released from custody and are scheduled to appear in Halifax Provincial Court on April 16 at 10 a.m. The investigation is ongoing.
File # 20-26402
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