Tracadie woman faces impaired driving charge after head-on collision with police cruiser
An RCMP officer was briefly trapped inside a damaged cruiser after being hit head-on by an SUV going the wrong way on a Route 11 off-ramp in Tracadie, N.B., Wednesday night, according to a police news release.
The release says the SUV's driver fled from the crash site in the wake of the collision, around 8:20 p.m. AT.
"Another driver in the area stopped to assist the officer, helping her exit the vehicle [safely]," the news release said.
Even though she suffered minor injuries in the collision, the RCMP officer "immediately began searching for the driver of the SUV," the release said.
She found an uninjured woman hiding in tall grass about 300 metres from the crash scene, and arrested her, according to the news release.
If you ever needed a reminder of the dangers of driving impaired, this is it. - Cpl. Kevin Plourde
Police said the woman who was arrested took breathalyzer tests at the Tracadie RCMP detachment that showed a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit.
"This could have been an exceptionally bad situation for everyone, including our member," the news release quoted Cpl. Kevin Plourde as saying. "If you ever needed a reminder of the dangers of driving impaired, this is it."
One lane of Route 11 was closed for several hours after the crash, with a police collision reconstructionist among those investigating.
The 50-year-old woman from Tracadie who was arrested at the scene will appear in Tracadie provincial court on Feb. 24, 2023.
Police are investigating whether to charge the driver with leaving the scene of an accident.
The officer who was in the vehicle that was hit was taken to hospital for treatment, but was released the same evening.
