Collision in Victoria injures three

Three people were injured after a driver believed to be impaired by drugs ran a red light and struck another vehicle Friday morning.

Around 9 a.m., a vehicle with a driver and passenger travelling northbound on Douglas Street ran a red light at the intersection with Finlayson Street, crossed the centre line and hit a southbound vehicle stopped at the light, said Victoria police spokesman Const. Cam MacIntyre.

Traffic and patrol officers and B.C. Emergency Health Services paramedics responded. The driver of the southbound vehicle was taken to hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries.

The passenger in the vehicle that ran the light fled and ran into a nearby business. Officers found the man disposing of drugs in the business, and he was arrested for possession of a controlled substance, MacIntyre said. He sustained non-life-threatening injuries in the crash and was taken to hospital.

The driver of the northbound vehicle failed a standard field sobriety test for drug-impaired driving. He was given a 24-hour driving prohibition, a violation ticket for driving without due care or attention, and a violation ticket for invalid insurance.

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call Victoria police’s nonemergency line at 250-995-7654 and press 1 to speak with the report desk. To report what you know anonymously, call Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222TIPS (8477).