Driver hit speeds of 220 km/h in Nissan Skyline, court told

Kitchener man told police he thought he was following the speed limit

He told police he thought he was following the speed limit. He was actually driving 220 km/h, court was told.

Two Waterloo Regional Police officers in an unmarked cruiser spotted the Kitchener man, 33, on the night of June 17, 2020, behind the wheel of a 1991 Nissan Skyline.

The revered Japanese import, with its steering wheel on the right-hand side, apparently was racing a Mazda Miata on Highway 8 near the Weber Street on-ramp.

“The Skyline swerved rapidly across four lanes of traffic continuously in a manner that caused (one officer) to be concerned that a collision could result,” Justice Craig Sigurdson said Wednesday in Kitchener court.

Traffic forced the driver to slow to 100 km/h.

The cruiser pulled up beside the car. The driver was smiling.

When the Skyline accelerated, police gave chase with the emergency lights and siren on. The cruiser hit speeds of 180 km/h.

Police ended the pursuit when the Skyline sped up to an estimated 220 km/h, court was told.

A database search of the licence plate gave police the driver’s address. Officers found him at home with the Skyline in the garage.

He told police he thought he was following the 90 km/h speed limit, but also alleged police had been “egging” him on.

At his trial, he changed course and denied driving the Skyline that night. And he said he doubted it could go faster than 120 km/h.

The man also claimed his car “made every cop in this town jealous” and alleged police were out to get him because he “built their dream car.”

He said he restored the Skyline to mint condition and often takes it to car shows, but told police the car “gets in a lot of trouble” and he’s “done with it,” the judge said.

Sigurdson found the man guilty of dangerous driving, stunt driving and failing to stop for police.

The convicted driver will be sentenced in August.