A 24-year-old from Holyrood has a court date this fall on a number of charges, including dangerous driving and flight from police after an incident in which the driver is accused of whizzing past a location where the RCMP had two others pulled over for speeding.
RCMP Traffic Services East says it all happened Thursday as officers were stopped on the Trans Canada Highway near Butter Pot Park with two vehicles that had been apprehended for travelling at 156 kilometres hour on the eastbound side of the highway.
While the Mounties were dealing with those traffic stops, they say a Honda Civic was observed travelling on the TCH’s westbound side at an extremely high rate of speed. Not only that, they also report the driver rolled the window down and looked at the officers while zooming by.
The speed of the Civic was registered at 175 km/h.
Another RCMP officer set up near Salmonier Line waited for the vehicle and observed it travelling even faster, at 178 km/h. A traffic stop was attempted, but police say the driver refused to pull over and continued at a high rate of speed.
In the interest of public safety, a pursuit was not initiated.
A description of the vehicle was provided to other RCMP officers, as well as to the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary. The vehicle was later found at a gas station in Conception Bay South, where the driver was arrested by the RNC without incident and then turned over to the RCMP.
The driver, who was issued a licence suspension, faces charges of dangerous driving, flight from police, speeding, and operating a vehicle without insurance and is set to attend court on Oct. 16.
Police seized and impounded the vehicle.
RCMP Traffic Services East asks anyone who might have dash-cam footage of this vehicle to contact them at (709) 229-3892.
The drivers involved in the original traffic stops at Butter Pot were charged for speeding, issued driving licence suspensions, and had their vehicles were seized and impounded.
