St. Albert RCMP are awaiting blood samples in a suspected case of impaired driving that ended with an upside-down car.
Officers were called to the intersection of Dawson Road and Giroux Road at around 12:30 a.m. Sunday morning, and arrived to find a white 1997 Pontiac Sunfire that had rolled onto its roof.
Cpl. Laurel Kading said rollover accidents inside city limits are rare and witnesses said they thought the vehicle was driving at an excessive speed.
“There were two witnesses at the scene and one of them actually had to move their vehicle to avoid being hit by this one,” she said. “They believe it was driving fairly quickly and had to brake suddenly and then rolled over.”
The vehicle rolled twice before coming to rest on its roof. Officers have ruled out weather and other road conditions as possible causes.
Kading said witnesses were not sure why the vehicle suddenly slammed on the brakes, but speculated it might have been trying to turn into the Mac’s convenience store nearby.
The driver was the only person in the car at the time and was wearing his seatbelt. He was taken to the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton. Kading said his condition is unknown, but his injuries were not considered life threatening.
Officers collected blood samples from the 24-year-old Edmonton man and are now awaiting results to see if charges should be laid.
That process usually takes a few weeks to determine, Kading said.
Officers are also investigating other possible traffic charges connected to the crash, including whether the driver had permission to be driving that vehicle.
Kading said officers were very pleased with the information provided by witnesses and callers who reported the vehicle.
She said information like that is vital to the police’s ability to deal with similar incidents.
