A Qualicum Beach man is facing a charge of being intoxicated in public this week — and police are looking for clues to add to it.
Oceanside RCMP Corporal Richard van de Pol said police were called to the scene of a motor vehicle crash at the intersection of Highway 19A and Bay Avenue just after 2 a.m. Tuesday morning, but when they arrived they found a damaged car — but with nobody behind the wheel.
“Members attended and observed a vehicle which had some front end damage and had obviously been involved in a collision with a power pole,” he said. “The pole was ripped in half and hanging by wires.”
The registered owner of the vehicle, a 22-year-old Qualicum Beach man, was found at the scene — clearly impaired, but not behind the wheel of the vehicle.
“The man was wandering around, staggering, and appeared intoxicated,” van de Pol said. “He was arrested for being drunk in public.”
Van de Pol said police are continuing their investigation into the incident in an attempt to prove the registered owner was the person who had been driving the vehicle at the time of the crash.
“We’re still trying to gather information that would put him behind the wheel,” he said.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the Oceanside RCMP at 250-248-6111.
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