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FLIGHT FROM POLICE

Pritchard man charged after fleeing from police in stolen vehicle

Aug 6, 2019 | 11:12 AM

PRITCHARD, B.C. — A man is facing charges after allegedly leading police on a chase in Pritchard over the weekend.

Chase RCMP says in a news release that officers received several reports of a man driving a red pickup truck with no plates in the Pritchard area on Friday afternoon.

At roughly 5:15 p.m., police found the truck travelling on Foort Road in Pritchard. Chase RCMP say the man driving the vehicle was known to police.

“Police attempted to stop the vehicle but it fled, driving in a manner such that other motorists had to drive off the road to avoid a collision,” an RCMP release states. “Police did not engage in a pursuit with the vehicle for public safety concerns.”

At roughly 10:00 p.m., Chase RCMP received a report of a head-on crash on Pinantan Pritchard Road. Police say the red pickup truck that had fled from police earlier was again being driven in a careless manner in the middle of the road when it crashes into a white Dodge pickup.

The driver of the red truck fled, and the vehicle was determined to have been reported stolen the previous night in Salmon Arm.

The two men in the white Dodge were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Kamloops RCMP and members of its Police Dog Service helped search for the driver. He was located and arrested several kilometres away.

Daniel James Phillip Blackburn 37, of Pritchard, has been charged with possession of stolen property, driving while disqualified, flight from police, and careless operation of a conveyance causing bodily harm.

He’s set to appear in Kamloops Provincial Court today.