The Independent Investigations Office of British Columbia (IlO) is investigating after a driver who fled the scene of a serious accident on Salt Spring was arrested and later treated for his injuries.
Salt Spring RCMP were called to the scene of what the RCMP stated in a press release was a “serious, single-vehicle collision” in the 200 block of Stewart Road just after 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 2. Police received word that everyone in the car at the time of the crash had been injured and that the driver had fled the scene on foot.
Officers located the driver a short distance away in the 400 block of Cusheon Lake Road. Officers noted that the male was injured and detained him, during which time the man “allegedly resisted officer’s attempts to take him into custody,” the RCMP stated. “BC ambulance personnel attended to assess the man at the scene, however, he was subsequently transported to a local area hospital by police.”
The man was later transferred to another hospital to treat serious injuries.
The IIO “will be investigating the incident in an effort to determine whether injuries sustained were as a result of police actions or the collision.”
The IIO, a civilian-led police oversight body, is tasked with investigating incidents involving death or serious harm, to determine whether these resulted from “actions or inactions of a police officer.”