Road rage incident in Vancouver leads to bloody fight, no charges
Posted May 17, 2017 11:47 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Investigators are combing over evidence and surveillance images after a case of road rage saw the people involved pull over to the side of the road and throw punches.
Vancouver Police say at about 4 p.m. yesterday, officers responded to several 911 calls following reports of a group of people fighting with weapons in the residential area of Inverness Street and East 51st Avenue.
“We did recover some baseball bats and some other pieces of evidence that were apparently put down the [storm] drain. Our officers had the assistance of the city and maybe even a tow truck and they went down and they were able to recover some property which is in the process of being examined,” explains Constable Jason Doucette.
It’s unclear what led up to the actual fight, but witnesses say the cars were speeding in the area right before.
Based on the information collected at the scene initially, police took four men and one woman into custody. Two men from Vancouver, 18 and 22-years-old respectively, were hauled off to the jail but later released. The other people involved were released without charges.
The victim in this case is said to be a 42-year-old Vancouver man who was taken to the hospital and treated for some minor injuries.
There is no specific road rage charge in the Criminal Code of Canada. “There is no specific charge for road rage but we do look at things appropriate for the Motor Vehicle Act and if it goes into the Criminal Code — we can certainly look at things like mischief, assault, assault with a weapon. It depends on the circumstances.”
Vancouver Police say over the past couple of years they’ve had roughly 300 reports of road rage annually, but as Doucette points out, that isn’t abnormal. And he is pleading with drivers to try and remain calm behind the wheel. “We want you to remain calm and we want you to remain safe. So, if there’s an opportunity for you to get to a safe area and drive off safely — then yes. We do encourage you to create some safe space between you and the person who is losing their temper.”
Doucette says the next step for investigators is to gather enough evidence to forward a full report to Crown Counsel which can approve charges.
