Cops thought truck would ram them

Photo: CTV

Vernon RCMP search the stolen black pickup truck used during a high-speed chase with police on July 31, 2012.

Two officers who set up a roadblock near Vernon believed they would be rammed by a speeding vehicle that had allegedly fired at police on July 31, 2012

Court heard from Cst. Tara Schneider and Cst. Clay Fixsen Thursday morning during ongoing testimony at the Michael Edward Ellis attempted murder trial in Kelowna, but neither officer could identify the accused.

Schneider took the stand first and said when she arrived at the intersection of Highway 97 and Westside Road near Vernon, it was a “chaotic” scene as officers attempted to block off the area in spite of numerous vacationers using the roadway.

There were only four officers at the scene – Fixsen, Schneider, and two others – and three police vehicles, able to block off three of the four lanes of traffic. They decided to leave the eastbound exit open towards Vernon and used that to shuttle traffic exiting Westside Road.

Over the police radio they heard Cpl. Richard Gingras moving closer to their position and yelling, “he’s the one behind me”.

As the police vehicle passed by and took the exit ramp, the court heard Schneider leveled her gun from her location behind the back of an unmarked police SUV and fired three shots at the black truck speeding towards her.

“I think he’s going to ram us,” she yelled. “At that point I realized I could possibly die at this moment.”

Schneider said she fired her first shot directly at the driver; her second shot at the driver’s door as the truck passed, and her third shot at the back of the truck as it also took the exit lane and continued moving eastbound towards Vernon.

She told the court that the four officers were at the scene for approximately 10 to 15 minutes redirecting traffic and blocking the road before the chase got to their location. When the black truck appeared, it was riding on its front rims, but there were no sparks.

It was also travelling at such a speed that Schneider did not believe it would make the turn and that’s why she wondered aloud if the truck would continue into the three police vehicles blocking its path at the northern end of Westside Road.

“I thought he was going to come right through us.”

That same thought raced through the mind of Fixsen, who also took cover behind a police car as the black truck bared down on them.

“I felt like we were dead,” Fixsen told the court. “I felt he was coming right through the roadblock.”

Fixsen elaborated by saying the driver of the truck seemed to be clinching the steering wheel, and described the man in the passenger seat as sitting sideways with his back to the driver and appeared to be bracing for impact.

“It felt so imminent, that a collision would happen.”

But at the last second the driver either abruptly or gradually swerved right and took the exit ramp towards Vernon. Both officers gave different descriptions of the move, but agreed the vehicle was moving very quickly.

Fixsen was unable to fire any shots at the vehicle as it sped past, and could not identify Ellis as the driver in court.

Both officers then rejoined the chase and arrived at the final location a short distance away to find all suspects had been apprehended.

Schneider ended up staying with a female who was found in the box of the truck. She had been shot during the chase and ended up having her kidney removed.

Shawn Adam Wysynski has already pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery with a firearm and Ashley Collins pleaded guilty to knowingly being in a vehicle where there were illegal firearms.

Neither person has been sentenced.

Ellis is facing 22 charges in relation to the chase.