50-kilometre car chase near Magog

Just after midnight on Wednesday night, patrol officers from the Sureté du Québec chased a car going over 130km/hour on highway 10 near Magog. The driver, a 34-year-old man from Magog whose name has not yet been released, was heading towards Montreal.

“Officers attempted to intercept the vehicle,” said Sergeant Aurélie Guindon, communications officer for Sureté du Québec. “It is during the interception that the driver tried to escape the officers.”

According to Guindon, this started a police chase spanning 50 kilometers and involving several officers.

“I can’t tell you how many officers were involved, but there were people from police stations of the MRC Yamaska and Rouxville who were called to help,” she said, adding that the motorist showed signs of disorganized driving. “When the officers tried to pull him over, they could see he was disorganized.”

The sergeant commented that this could mean that the suspect was under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or it could indicate a mental health issue. “At the present we don’t know for sure, but he was sent to the Granby hospital to evaluate his status.”

The high speed chase ended at Angeguardien, where the man attempted to avoid spike strips set down by the officers. The suspect then crashed his car into a patrol vehicle and wound up in a roadside ditch. He is being charged attempting to elude police officers, dangerous driving and assault with a deadly weapon.

“It is to be determined whether the crash was the result of the driver trying to harm the officers with his vehicle, resulting in an assault with a deadly weapon charge, or if it was simply a result of the circumstances,” said Guindon. “It is up to the court to decide.”

Nobody was hurt in the collision. The Magog man appeared in court on Thursday for his charges.