Nov 28 2005
Photo by RANDY FIEDLER/Advocate staff Wrecked minivan involved in police chase sits in Ponoka towing yard. Story by Paul Cowley Advocate staff A Ponoka paramedic was assaulted Friday as she tried to tend a suspected drunk driver pinned in the wreck of a stolen vehicle. The minivan, believed stolen by Hobbema gang members, flipped end over end on Hwy 53 shortly after 5 p.m. while its driver was trying to evade a pursuing Ponoka bylaw officer. Police were also racing to the area when the accident happened. "Police secured the vehicle and its occupants at gunpoint prior to the arrival of EMS and fire crews due to the possibility that the passengers were armed," said Ponoka RCMP Cpl. Douglas Enns in a news release. A man and a 15-year-old were removed from the minivan unharmed. "The third man was more difficult. At one point he had purposely elbowed a female paramedic in the jaw as she was inside the overturned vehicle attempting to help him," alleged police. The driver remains in hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Glen Holly, general manager of Guardian Ambulance, confirmed it was one of his employees who was hit. "My comment would be we're not happy with that," he said. "We want to look out for the safety of our paramedics and EMTs. "It's not something we like to hear about. But he said incidents of this kind are very rare. "We generally don't have any problems. The incident began about 5 p.m. Friday when a Ponoka bylaw officer spotted a minivan speeding erratically through town on Hwy 53. A license plate check showed they didn't match the vehicle and police were called. The vehicle veered in and out of its lane, forcing oncoming cars to swerve to avoid head-on collisions, said Enns. The pursuing bylaw officer turned his emergency lights on and eventually pulled the vehicle over. The officer ordered the occupants to stay where they were until police arrived. Before police got there, the minivan took off, but soon got stuck in heavy traffic on Hwy 53. Police said the driver then made a "dangerous and ill-conceived attempt to pass eastbound traffic" which almost caused a head-on collision. The minivan driver lost control and the van rolled end over end Ponoka RCMP had been looking for a similar van allegedly stolen earlier by aboriginal gang members. Leslie Cattleman, 29, of Hobbema, is charged with impaired and dangerous driving, flight, possession of stolen property and assault Neil Cattleman, 26, of Hobbema, is charged with possession of stolen property. The 15-year-old was not charged. A few hours later on Friday, Ponoka RCMP had to deal with more mayhem believed to be alcohol-fueled. A driver remains in critical condition after his vehicle slammed into an embankment at about 12:45 a.m. The accident happened only a few minutes after police had been warned a drunk driver had left a Lacombe bar despite an offer of a free taxi ride. Police said the man was talking to family members on his cell phone when the crash happened. RCMP said the 34-year-old Ponoka man was traveling south on Elkhorn Road when he failed to see a marked T-intersection at Hwy 53, about 10 km west of Ponoka. He slammed into the embankment of a ditch and was thrown headfirst into the windshield. He was not wearing a seatbelt. "Witnesses indicate that he narrowly avoided colliding with an eastbound tractor trailer unit," said Enns. "Alcohol is believed to be a major factor. Police at the scene identified the truck as one they had been searching for a short time before after getting a call from Lacombe Police Service. "Lacombe members had been contacted by staff at a local bar when the driver had consumed an amount of liquor there which would have impaired his ability to drive. Police were given his description and license plate number. The bar the man was drinking in has a policy of offering a free cab ride home to patrons whose liquor tabs exceed $50. "This particular man refused," alleged police. The man was taken to Ponoka hospital, where a warrant was obtained for blood samples before he was transported by STARS to Edmonton. The investigation continues.
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