Police say that a group of truckers came together to help officers arrest a dangerous suspect who crashed his car in their trucking company’s parking lot.
The incident began at 4 p.m. on Monday, March 26th, in Nanaimo, British Columbia. when police tried to pull over an older model Jeep. The driver refused to pull over for the officers and sped away in a reckless manner. In the interest of public safety, officers opted not to pursue the Jeep driver.
Soon after, an officer reported hearing a loud crash near Van Cam Freight Ways. When the officers arrived at the scene, they found that the Van Cam truckers had taken matters into their own hands.
From the RCMP press release:
When officers arrived they saw the suspect vehicle and the driver being blocked from leaving the parking lot, by a semi truck and trailer which had been positioned across the main entrance to the lot. The attending officer watched as the vehicle was driven repeatedly into the semi on three separate occasions. The suspect driver soon abandoned this approach and proceeded to drive around to the rear of the lot. Shortly thereafter he drove his vehicle into the fence surrounding the compound and then a concrete barricade which rendered his vehicle un-driveable.
Officers approached the vehicle on foot demanding the driver get out of his vehicle and that he was under arrest. Not to be deterred, the driver decided to make a run for it. By this time several nearby truckers took up the chase on foot and pursued the suspect through their compound. Several minutes later officers and the truckers managed to corral the male and arrested him without further incident.
With help from the truckers, 39-year-old Kale Nystrom was taken into police custody without further incident.
Nystrom sustained facial injuries from crashing his vehicle, according to police. No one else was injured.
While police commended the efforts of the truckers who helped apprehend Nystrom, they want to remind civilians not to get involved in dangerous situations with criminals.
Gary O’Brien of the Nanaimo RCMP said, “While we commend the truckers with assisting the officers in the arrest of this person we would be remiss in not reminding the public of the inherent risk posed when intervening in these types of situations. Sometimes its best to let officers make the arrest, and for civilians to report and monitor from a safe distance.”
Nystrom has been charged with Flight from Police, Dangerous Operation of a Motor Vehicle, Mischief Under $5000, Drive While Prohibited, Fail to Stop at the Scene of an Accident, Possession of a Controlled Substance (suspected heroin) and Prohibited Driving.