Two Headingley RCMP police vehicles were recently struck during a traffic stop at a location near the community of Elie, Manitoba.
On November 14, 2018, at approximately 6:25pm, two Headingley RCMP officers responded to an impaired driving complaint. Officers attended separately and located two vehicles that were stopped on the left hand shoulder of the westbound lane of Highway 1, located just east of the community of Elie. Police then pulled to the side of the road behind the two stopped vehicles, which contained the suspected impaired driver and a witness.
During the course of the investigation, the suspected impaired driver was placed into a police SUV by the first attending police officer while the second police officer pulled in behind the SUV. As that second officer exited his police car and approached the witness vehicle, he observed a westbound car collide with the passenger side of his police car, which then collided with the police SUV due to the force of the collision. The officer and 28-year-old driver, from Winnipeg, who were seated in the police SUV, were not injured.
Police say that the westbound vehicle, being driven by an 82-year-old male from Elie, then rolled after colliding with the police car and came to a stop on its roof. Officers immediately approached this vehicle and had to extricate the driver as there was smoke. The driver, who was wearing a seatbelt, was not injured.
“Here is a perfect example of the dangers we face on a daily basis when we conduct traffic stops and why we stress the importance of drivers needing to slow down and move over,” says Sgt. Paul Manaigre of the Manitoba RCMP. “Thankfully, these officers and the members of the public walked away uninjured. This could have been so much worse. I can’t stress enough how important it is for everyone to slow down and move over. This is law, and it is there for a reason.”
RCMP report that the 28-year-old male driver was arrested for impaired driving by alcohol and taken to the Headingley Detachment. The 82-year-old male driver faces charges under the Highway Traffic Act.
Police note that the law requires anyone who sees an emergency vehicle, including tow trucks, with their lights activated on the side of the road to slow down to 60 km/hr if the posted limit is 80 km/hr or higher, or slow down to 40 km/hr if the posted limit is less than 80 km/hr. Drivers are also required to move into the farthest lane away from the emergency vehicles, if safe to do so.
