Drunk driver crashes in Saanich, destroys rock wall, snaps light standard in half

Source: Victoria Times Colonist

BRITISH COLUMBIA - Saanich police are saying that an impaired driver who careered off the road at a bus stop last night is lucky no one was standing at the stop.

Sgt. John Price said at about 10:20 p.m., a 42-year-old man heading west on Gorge Road near Austin Avenue failed to negotiate a curve. His vehicle jumped the curb near a bus stop and crashed into a rock wall, then spun 90-degrees and ricocheted in reverse across the road until it was stopped by a light standard, which snapped in half.

Price said the rock wall was destroyed, and required four or five municipal workers with a backhoe to clear the debris. Two lanes of traffic were closed for three hours.

Neither the driver nor the passenger was seriously injured.

The driver, who is from Kelowna, blew twice the legal blood-alcohol limit, and spent the night in the Saanich police cell. He was released this morning with impaired driving-related charges pending.