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West Kelowna  

Witness shot at during chase

One man took it upon himself to follow three people in a stolen vehicle after he was shot at during a high-speed police chase on Westside Road, the court heard Monday.

Michael Scott was working as a construction supervisor for the Ministry of Transportation on July 31, 2012, when he received a radio dispatch about a ‘runner’. That was the name given to vehicles that pass through construction checkpoints with disregard to posted signs or flaggers controlling traffic.

The call came through around 1:40 p.m. for everyone to “be aware” of a minivan that wasn’t stopping. When he first saw the vehicle crest a hill about 150 metres away, Scott told the court it was odd how the vehicle was moving so slowly. But once it appeared to decide on a direct  line, the vehicle accelerated through the construction zone quite quickly.

Scott was unable to see the driver as the minivan roared past, but he did catch the first three digits on the license plate. He then went to his work truck to radio a warning dispatch to other crews, and proceeded to follow the minivan.

He unexpectedly caught up with it about one kilometre down the road, as the minivan had stopped at another construction section. Scott parked about 5 metres behind the van and told the court about the chaotic scene unfolding.

There were two other vehicles parked nearby, both facing southbound, in the direction he had just come.

Scott saw three people exit the minivan – two men and one woman. The driver of the van went to the driver side door of a red pickup truck and accosted the driver.

When asked by the Crown to elaborate, Scott says the man opened the door to the truck and seemed to be grabbing at the person to pull them out.

Scott’s attention was momentarily diverted to the scene unfolding, and that’s when he suddenly noticed the driver of the van was now standing in front of his truck, pulling out a gun and pointing it at him.

“He directly pointed his weapon at me and proceeded to fire multiple shots at me,” Scott told the court.

“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and I ducked down behind the dash.”

Scott says he heard between three and four dull pops, or “thuds”, and what sounded like rocks ricocheting off his front window.

He remembers a lot of yelling and commotion at the scene, but was adamant that the hail of bullets came with no warning or direction from the shooter.

Able to see the driver for the first time, Scott identified him in court as the man in the prisoner’s box – Michael Edward Ellis, who is currently facing 22 charges including multiple counts of attempted murder.

While still trying to hide below the dash of his work truck, Scott says he was able to see the three people move some items from the van to the red pickup truck, before they all piled in and continued northbound on Westside Road.

“Time seemed to really slow down during the incident,” said Scott, who remembers the shooter getting into the drivers seat of the newly stolen truck.

“I was fixated on the shooter shooting at me.”

He told the court the gun he saw had a wood grain stock, with a barrel that had been cut down. It was also at this point that Scott noticed the rear window of the minivan had been smashed out. 

As the truck drove off, Scott quickly looked around to ensure everyone was alright, then made the split second decision – based partly on his anger at being shot at – to pursue the truck as he called 911 to relay the vehicles location.

The chase continued northbound as Scott kept the stolen truck in sight, but considering what had just happened, he made sure to stay at least 100 metres behind. Evidently that was not far enough as Scott told the court that a male appeared to hang out the passenger side window and shoot back towards him on one occasion, before the truck came to a full stop with the same passenger taking a shooting stance and firing back at him on another occasion.

According to Scott, none of those bullets appeared to strike his vehicle, as they both began racing down the road once again.

Soon the red truck came to a stop blocking the road, as another black truck approached and also came to a stop. From a few hundred metres away, Scott watched as this new vehicle was carjacked and all three people from the minivan again switched their supplies to the new truck and continued northbound.

Scott estimates he followed them for around 10 kilometres, all the while talking to 911 operators as he continued relaying information.

He finally turned back after losing the truck ahead of some slower vehicles and coming across a police cruiser to which he identified himself and what had just happened.

The other two passengers alleged to have been with Ellis are Shawn Adam Wysynski and Ashlee Collins, both of whom have already pleaded guilty to lesser charges. They have yet to be sentenced.

The trial continues all this week.



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