Two Lower Prospect ATV riders are facing charges after one crashed into an RCMP sport utility vehicle and both fled from the officer.
According to a Halifax District RCMP news release, an officer saw an ATV driving at high speed on the Timberlea Village Parkway without headlights on at about 9 p.m. on Tuesday. The ATV passed the police SUV from the opposite direction, and when the Mountie turned on the vehicle's emergency lights, the driver accelerated away.
"The officer checked to ensure it was safe to turn the SUV around and began a U-turn to do the traffic stop," the news release said. "While this was happening, a second ATV without headlights on collided with the police SUV and fled towards Otter Lake Road. The officer was not injured."
The first rider stopped at the entrance of a wooded trail running parallel to Highway 103. The second rider joined him and they both took off down the trail.
The officer went to the trail's end and saw both ATVs come out of the woods. They passed the police SUV and headed west on the shoulder of the eastbound lane of the highway. The officer followed, with the lights and sirens on to warn oncoming motorists.
The ATVs circled back to the start of the trail and entered it again.
"Additional RCMP officers and the Halifax Regional Police K9 Unit came to assist with the search for the ATV riders," the release said. "A short time later, police located them with their ATVs idling on the trail near the Exit 3 ramp. Neither of the riders were injured and both riders were arrested without incident. Both ATVs were seized by police."
A 21-year-old man and a 23-year-old man, both from Lower Prospect, face charges of dangerous operation of a conveyance, flight from a peace officer and Motor Vehicle Act offences. The 23-year-old is also facing a charge of failure to stop after an accident and was issued a seven-day driving suspension after a roadside screening device test.
Both men were released and are scheduled to appear in Halifax provincial court on April 16 at 10 a.m. The investigation is ongoing.
