An intoxicated motorist played demolition derby in a Kelowna parking lot Sunday, smashing five vehicles and making their
owners fume.
The 42-year-old man used his older Dodge pickup to ram the parked vehicles in the lot between the Kelowna Yacht Club and the Water Street Seniors Centre. He then drove up a curb across from the RCMP detachment on Doyle Avenue, where police arrested him.
“He must have been stoned,” said Tony Straga, who had just eaten breakfast with his wife, Sharon, at the seniors centre when they witnessed the rampage. “I hope they throw the book at him. We don‘t need people like that on the road.”
The Stragas, who live in Peachland, were returning to their van about 11 a.m. when they heard the sound of tires squealing in the parking lot. The truck slammed into the side of a blue Toyota pickup parked near the yacht club, leaving a large dent. It drove through the lot and crashed into the rear of a 1997 Dodge Neon, parked in a handicapped spot.
“It made me cry,” said the owner, an elderly woman. “I‘ve never had an accident. Now look at it.”
The driver aimed his truck at the Neon, said Sharon Straga. He put the truck in reverse and drove backward toward the couple as they stood by their passenger door.
“He was aiming towards us . . . I didn‘t know which way to go. I was a little nervous.
“He saw us standing here. He changed his mind. I could see him turn the (steering) wheel and, full blast, he nailed those cars,” she said, pointing to three vehicles near her van. “He had his foot to the pedal like you wouldn‘t believe.”
Damage to the three vehicles was extensive. The driver plowed into a Plymouth Voyager van and tore the rear bumper off a 2007 Nissan Versa. The force of the collision drove the Versa into a newer model Ford Edge.
The owners spoke to police and waited for tow trucks to remove their vehicles.
“I was thinking how lucky we were,” said the Versa owner. “He could have been (mowing) people over.”
The driver deliberately parked outside the police station, as if to give himself up. It took several minutes before an officer arrived to detain him. He could barely walk as he got into the back of a patrol car. He passed out on the seat minutes later.
The man was hauling a bed and other furniture, which were wrapped under a tarp. Police were unable to learn much more about him. He refused to blow into the breathalyser machine and was still sleeping in cells a few hours later.
He faces charges of failing to provide a breath sample, impaired driving and possibly dangerous driving. Top of Page
