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Impaired driver arrested after crashing into street light

Nanaimo RCMP arrested an impaired driver who sped away from an argument and crashed into a street light Tuesday afternoon.
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RCMP

Nanaimo RCMP arrested an impaired driver who sped away from an argument and crashed into a street light Tuesday afternoon.

Police said they responded to multiple reports about three adults in a heated argument amongst themselves and with other pedestrians near Promenade Drive and Front Street around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.

As officers arrived, they saw a vehicle leave the area and stop at a nearby intersection. An officer recognized the driver from previous interactions. As the officer was activating her emergency equipment and turning around, the driver sped off.

About a minute later, the vehicle crashed into a street light at Campbell Street and Terminal Avenue, about 650 metres from where it was first spotted.

Paramedics and firefighters responded. Three people were in the vehicle.

The driver appeared to be impaired, police said, and she was arrested for driving impaired and on an outstanding warrant for prohibited driving.

One of the passengers was arrested for being drunk in public, and the other was released without charges.

The driver gave two breath samples above the legal blood alcohol limit and was held in custody overnight. She appeared Wednesday in Nanaimo provincial court on charges of prohibited driver.

Officers also expect charges of drunk driving and flight from police.

The intersection was closed for several hours while city crews repaired the street light. The vehicle was destroyed in the crash and towed from the scene.

— Times Colonist