The B.C. Highway Patrol’s Parksville division is looking for a motorcyclist who accelerated and knocked down an officer after being signalled to stop.
Officers were conducting enforcement last Friday about 5 p.m. on the Trans-Canada Highway near Smiley Road, south of Chemainus, when a northbound motorcyclist travelling at a high rate of speed illegally passed several vehicles — including two marked police vehicles.
The motorcycle was not pursued due to public-safety concerns, but the officers radioed ahead to their colleagues.
About 20 minutes later, the motorcycle was spotted by uniformed officers on foot as they were watching traffic in a posted construction zone on the highway near Mount Sicker Road, where southbound traffic funnels into one lane.
The motorcyclist was once again passing vehicles illegally, police said. Traffic was halted and a uniformed officer raised his hand in an attempt to get the motorcycle to stop, but it hit him, knocking him onto the pavement.
The officer suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
The motorcycle then struck and damaged a police motorcycle before speeding away. No description of the motorcycle or its rider is available.
“Failing to stop when directed to do so puts police, motorcyclists, and/or other road users at risk for serious injury and harm,” said Chief Supt. Holly Turton, officer in charge of the B.C. Highway Patrol.
She said Section 73 of the Motor Vehicle Act requires drivers to stop when signalled to do so.
Police are urgently seeking any witnesses to the incident and are appealing to motorists who may have been in the area to check their dashcam video.
Contact Sgt. Rob Haney at 250-954-2950.
