North Vancouver RCMP are on the lookout for the driver of a truck which went on an erratic joyride in the early morning hours of Feb. 10, tearing up lawns, hitting signs and smashing into an occupied car and taxi before being ditched on a nearby sports field.
The driving drama started around 4 a.m., when a local resident in the 200 block of 25th Street West near Chesterfield woke up to the sound of a vehicle being driven across his front lawn. When the man went outside, the driver of the truck got out of the vehicle and struck the resident in the arm with a metal bar, then drove off, said North Vancouver RCMP Sgt. Doug Trousdell.
Police were called, and a hunt started for the truck, described as a white and light brown older model pick-up with a camper.
Soon, however, multiple reports were coming in of a truck driving erratically and hitting cars and road signs in the area of Lonsdale Avenue and 29th Street.
Witnesses described the truck as “driving all over the road,” said Trousdell.
There, the truck was seen by witnesses hitting a taxi and a car while they were being driven, as well as a parked car and several signs.
Thankfully nobody was injured, said Trousdell.
At 5:30 a.m., a police officer noticed that the gate at Wagg Creek Park appeared to have been rammed, said Trousdell. Police found the abandoned truck on the sports field – minus the driver.
The truck had significant damage, said Trousdell. “It was likely inoperable at this point.”
RCMP officers searched the trail system with a police dog, but didn’t turn up anything.
Reports are still coming in of damage caused by the truck, said Trousdell. The North Vancouver RCMP is hoping to speak with anyone who might have seen the truck in the early morning hours of Feb. 10, or who noticed damage to their property that might be related. Police are also looking for any video of the truck or driver.
Trousdell said the driver is described by witnesses as a middle-aged white man.
