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Drunk driver nearly runs over police officer

A police officer had a close call at a speed trap in Metchosin last Thursday when he had to dodge out of the way of a vehicle.

A police officer had a close call at a speed trap in Metchosin last Thursday when he had to dodge out of the way of a vehicle that failed to stop.

Officers with the Capital Region Integrated Road Safety Unit were conducting mid-afternoon speed enforcement on Sooke Road in Metchosin when they spotted black BMW coming towards them at 95 kilometres per hour in a 60 km/h zone. An officer stepped onto the highway with a portable stop sign to flag the driver down.

Instead of slowing down, the vehicle veered towards the officer and he had to run out of the way to avoid being hit.

At that point the driver did stop at the side of the highway. Police smelled alcohol on the 38 year old male driver and a breath sample registered four times the legal limit of alcohol.

“This is one of the highest breath readings this unit has seen in a long time,” said Cpl. Ryan Bacica of the IRSU. “It’s a good thing this driver was removed from the road before he actually did hit someone.”

The Sooke driver has a previous conviction for impaired driving. He has been released by police with a court date. His car was impounded.

The officer was “a bit shaken by the close call”, stated a press release, but was otherwise unharmed.