
Mounties have arrested a man accused of driving drunk, crashing his car into a barrier and later passing out at his steering wheel – all with a child in the back seat.
Police say a little girl was found uninjured in the suspect’s SUV after he was found slumped over in his seat in the middle of Como Lake Road at Mariner Way in Coquitlam Friday night.
The girl was quickly reunited with her mother, while the man, seen bruised and bleeding, was arrested for impaired driving at the scene, according to CTV Vancouver.
Investigators say the ordeal began in Burnaby when the suspect’s vehicle slammed into a concrete barrier at Lougheed Highway and Production Way.
The driver then took off, but a witness followed and called 911. That’s when police found the SUV sitting idle on Como Lake Road nearly eight kilometres away,
“A lot of cops, a lot of people, traffic was backed up,” said Kaycee Pauquette, who said she lives in the area. “That little girl, it wouldn’t have been her fault at all. Absolutely horrifying, I feel sorry for her.”
Police have yet to announce formal charges against the suspect.
The relationship between the child and the suspect has not been confirmed.