Truck driver leaves trail of destruction

A man driving a semi truck with a 45-foot trailer fled police early Tuesday morning, leaving behind a trail of destruction in downtown Edmonton.

The 46-year-old driver allegedly knocked down a traffic light, damaged a sidewalk and hit a pickup truck.

He was arrested after officers deployed a spike belt.

The incident began around 6 a.m. when off-duty Edmonton Police Service members witnessed the truck unable to get under a rail bridge near the High Level Bridge at 109th Street and 97th Avenue. The driver allegedly attempted to back out and knocked down a traffic light.

An on-duty police officer near the intersection “saw the semi having difficulty,” police said in a news release.

The officer went to direct the semi but it fled on 97th Avenue, travelling against traffic and backing on to another meridian and damaging the sidewalk.

Police began their pursuit as the driver allegedly proceeded on 109th Street, running through two red lights and then hitting a pickup truck at 109th Street and Jasper Avenue. The driver than took a right-hand turn on to Jasper Avenue from the far left lane.

Police abandoned their pursuit and other officers later spotted the erratic vehicle going to Wayne Gretzky Drive, then around Connors Road and back downtown.

Officers deployed a spike belt in the area of Jasper Avenue and 82nd Street and arrested a 46-year-old man.

The incident is under investigation and charges are pending, police say.