Officer suffers minor injuries after being clipped by side-view mirror
A Coquitlam RCMP officer is recovering following a dangerous collision early Tuesday morning on the Mary Hill Bypass.
The officer had turned on the cruiser’s emergency lights and pulled a driver over for a traffic violation westbound near the United Boulevard off-ramp.
During the traffic stop, a second driver veered around the cruiser when the side mirror struck the officer and broke off.
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The driver who had been pulled over helped the officer, who was taken to hospital with minor injuries, according to a release from Coquitlam RCMP.
The second driver stayed on the scene and is cooperating with police.
Drugs and alcohol were not a factor.
Expected to make a full recovery, the officer is in good spirits and, “looking forward to getting back to serving the community,” Graham stated in a message to the Dispatch.
Besides driving in the lane occupied by the police car, the driver was exceeding the “required slow-down speed,” noted Coquitlam RCMP spokesperson Cpl. John Graham.
When emergency vehicles, two trucks, and roadside workers switch on their lights, drivers are required to slow down to 40 kilometres per hour if the speed limit is less than 80 km/h.
Failure to move over or slow down can result in a $173 ticket.
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