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Watch: Cars impounded at Quadra Street road block

Police across region active for busy Friday night

Saanich Police towed the vehicles of two different drivers on Friday night from the first half of a road block on Quadra Street at Inverness Road.

The road block was sponsored by ICBC and coordinated with the region’s Integrated Traffic Safety Unit as Victoria Police and other police held road blocks on Friday.

“We stopped hundreds of cars tonight,” said Sgt. Damien Kowalewich, who’s been part of dozens of road blocks in his career. “It’s hit or miss. You don’t always know how many people will be impaired. I’ve had nights where we pull over half a dozen impaired drivers quite soon.”

One woman in her 20s failed the standard field sobriety test and was served a 24-hour suspension that included having her car towed for drug impairment. The second car towed from Quadra and Inverness was a male who was driving his Cadillac SUV without a valid drivers license.

After pulling over, the male attempted to switch seats with the passenger, explaining that she did have a valid drivers license. However, Saanich Police discovered he was a prohibited driver and had his car towed, Kowalewich said.

The Quadra stop was the first half of the night, from about 9 to 11 p.m. Following a short break the officers held another road block until 2 a.m. Two more cars were towed, including one from a prohibited driver, between midnight and 2 a.m. on Pat Bay Highway near Elk Lake.

Meanwhile it was a busy evening for Victoria Police who chose to live tweet the anticipated activity of the Friday night before Christmas. And they were right. Among the calls Vic PD attended to was to shut down a mass gathering of youths imbibing alcohol in Beacon Hill Park and to break up numerous altercations downtown, in addition to a series of impaired drivers who had their cars impounded.

reporter@saanichnews.com


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Saanich Police Reserve Const. Michael Harrison checks drivers along Quadra Street during an ICBC sponsored road block on Friday night. (Travis Paterson/News Staff)
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Saanich Police Reserve Const. Michael Harrison checks drivers along Quadra Street during an ICBC sponsored road block on Friday night. (Travis Paterson/News Staff)
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A drug-impaired driver receives 24-hour suspension of her car from Saanich Police on Friday night. (Travis Paterson/News Staff)