RCMP: Pedestrain unharmed; bear spray a bad thing
By Kyra Hoggan
An accident backed up traffic along Castlegar’s main drag this morning, but police say there’s no cause for concern.
According to Castlegar RCMP Cpl. Deb Postnikoff, a call came in at 6:40 a.m. indicating a pedestrian had been hit by a motorist while using the crosswalk at Fourth Street on Columbia Avenue.
“It turns out, the pedestrian was not even involved, had not even started to cross yet,” Postnikoff said. “Investigation thus far indicates one motorist had actually stopped to allow the pedestrian to cross, when another vehicle travelling directly behind failed to stop, rear-ending the (first) vehicle.”
She said both drivers suffered minor injuries as a result of the collision, and the investigation continues.
In related news, a 20-year-old Castlegar man is now facing charges of utterning threats and two counts of a prohibited weapon after an altercation Wednesday.
At about 10 a.m., according to Postnikoff, police responded to a complaint in the 600 block of Seventh Avenue. She said the man had entered the premises and uttered threats that he would use bear spray on several individuals inside (the victims, she added, were known to him).
“The male fled on foot prior to police attendance,” she said. “The quick response … of local police resulted in (the man’s) arrest just a short distance away.
“He was taken into police custody,” she said, adding the bear srpay and a baton were found on him. The man is now facing charges stemming from the incident, and will also be dealing with two outstanding warrants from previous matters in the Fraser Valley area.
The suspect’s name has not yet been released.
Postnikoff reassured the public that bear spray is not, in and of itself, illegal – if it is being used for its intended purpose.
She quoted the relevant secton of the Criminal Code, indicating a prohibited weapon includes, “any device used for the purpose of injuring, immobilizing, or otherwise incapacitating any person …”
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