A drunken man in his early 20s narrowly missed a Saanich home when he crashed into the yard, ran from the scene and was later found out of breath and sucking wind on a nearby trail.
Saanich police report the owners of the home awoke from their sleep around 2:30 a.m. Sunday and saw at least one person running from the Toyota van on their property.
Patrol and canine officers arrived shortly after and tracked the man through the sports field at Colquitz Middle School and to the Galloping Goose Trail, where they found him.
The man, who was identified by the police dog as the suspect, had stopped and was trying to catch his breath.
He was actively sucking wind and had obviously been running for some distance, said Sgt. Dean Jantzen, spokesman for Saanich police.
The man said he stole his moms van and claimed he drank a 26-ounce bottle of alcohol. He insisted he could still handle driving and that he had not drunk too much.
The two roadside screening device tests conducted by our officers revealed otherwise, Jantzen said. Both of them were fails.
His mother has decided not to press charges for the stolen van, but because he only had a learners permit, police charged him for driving contrary to restrictions of his licence.
He was also charged him for failing to remain at the scene of an accident.
