Terrible Accident on Hwy. 16 near Hinton

[Trojan97]

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/ki...455/story.html

"A cruiser caught up to the van at the gates to the park and tried to pull the van over with lights and sirens.

The driver did not pull over, and the Jasper officer did not follow the van, instead notifying Hinton RCMP. Two cruisers began following the van as it entered the town of Hinton, about 80 kilometres east of Jasper. When the cruisers signaled the van to pull over, RCMP say the van moved into oncoming traffic and accelerated.

The van continued east out of Hinton going the wrong way on the divided Highway 16, pursued by officers, when, shortly after 5 p.m., it reached the top of a hill where it met two vehicles, one in each lane.

The van collided head-on with a pickup in the passing lane. The minivan burst into flames. RCMP that had been in pursuit tried to pull the driver from the pickup but the truck was so badly damaged they were unable to do so."

My heart goes out to the family of the pickup truck driver. What a tragedy.

[iggypop]

Wow, that's horrible.

RCMP do not believe either driver survived the initial impact.

I guess that's a good thing at least.

[Bob]

I thought it was RCMP policy not to pursue vehicles into oncoming traffic. In either case, that sucks hard.

[J pold]

What a selfish, disgusting human being.

[mykalberta]

I think calling him/her a human being is being far far to nice.

[burn_this_city]

I feel terrible for the driver of the truck and their family. He was basically murdered by the fleeing driver.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Bob

I thought it was RCMP policy not to pursue vehicles into oncoming traffic. In either case, that sucks hard.

Ya, the police could end up getting sued.

Back in Thunder Bay in the later 90s, a similar situation occurred where the RCMP was chasing a teenager who stole a car. The teenager started driving eratically on the highway. Apparently, the RCMP were supposed to call off the chase and either call ahead to set up a road block, or call in a helicoptor.

Eventually, the kid killed someone and the police got sued. Catching the bad guy isn't supposed to take place over public safety.

[jar_e]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

Ya, the police could end up getting sued.

Back in Thunder Bay in the later 90s, a similar situation occurred where the RCMP was chasing a teenager who stole a car. The teenager started driving eratically on the highway. Apparently, the RCMP were supposed to call off the chase and either call ahead to set up a road block, or call in a helicoptor.

Eventually, the kid killed someone and the police got sued. Catching the bad guy isn't supposed to take place over public safety.

Its a hot topic definitely...if RCMP don't pursue this guy and he still drives the wrong way and kills someone, RCMP are damned. If RCMP follow this guy and he kills someone, they're damned.

The only reason I think I'd support RCMP in this would be because if anything, having a cruiser going lights and sirens may atleast warn oncoming traffic...without that, there isn't much warning.

[burn_baby_burn]

Still, would the fleeing vehicle still be driving on the wrong side of the highway if it wasn't being pursued by the RCMP? Of course the person in the fleeing vehicle is in the wrong, but anybody who puts their own life in jeopardy by speeding into oncoming traffic is not rational. The cops should know better than to put the public at such risk. Unless the person in the fleeing vehicle is a monster such as Ted Bundy then what could the police possible gain by a high speed pursuit into oncoming traffic? I really hope this province takes a hard look at this incident and does its best to ensure that something like this never happens again.

[jar_e]

Originally Posted by burn_baby_burn

Still, would the fleeing vehicle still be driving on the wrong side of the highway if it wasn't being pursued by the RCMP? Of course the person in the fleeing vehicle is in the wrong, but anybody who puts their own life in jeopardy by speeding into oncoming traffic is not rational. The cops should know better than to put the public at such risk. Unless the person in the fleeing vehicle is a monster such as Ted Bundy then what could the police possible gain by a high speed pursuit into oncoming traffic? I really hope this province takes a hard look at this incident and does its best to ensure that something like this never happens again.

That's the million dollar question. I'm not sure the value of van, but chances are, even if they caught the guy, he could only originally be charged with posession of stolen property under $5000 (and if they had apprehended him, dangerous driving, etc.).

But pretty weak reason to start chasing someone. That's like saying you're chasing someone who has a stolen ipod in their possesion.

[burn_baby_burn]

Originally Posted by jar_e

That's the million dollar question. I'm not sure the value of van, but chances are, even if they caught the guy, he could only originally be charged with possession of stolen property under $5000 (and if they had apprehended him, dangerous driving, etc.).

But pretty weak reason to start chasing someone. That's like saying you're chasing someone who has a stolen ipod in their possession.

It makes me mad watching some of those police chase videos on tv. One in particular the cops suspected a pickup truck of having a stolen lawn mower. The driver refused to stop when the cops turned the lights on and the pursuit was on in a residential area. Sure enough the truck broadsides a car when it runs a stop sign. I believe in this case that everyone involved just had minor injuries. But was it worth potentially killing somebody or horrible injuring somebody over a stolen lawn mower? The police in that incident should have been fired immediately.

[jar_e]

Originally Posted by burn_baby_burn

It makes me mad watching some of those police chase videos on tv. One in particular the cops suspected a pickup truck of having a stolen lawn mower. The driver refused to stop when the cops turned the lights on and the pursuit was on in a residential area. Sure enough the truck broadsides a car when it runs a stop sign. I believe in this case that everyone involved just had minor injuries. But was it worth potentially killing somebody or horrible injuring somebody over a stolen lawn mower? The police in that incident should have been fired immediately.

Its hard to compare though...obviously majority of videos of car chases come from the states where their chase policy is vastly different than RCMP, CPS and other municipalities. I do agree though there should be something done to preserve public safety and also minimize the effect to the public from the chase.