An ice cream truck mowed down several garbage cans before driving into a ditch Thursday afternoon in Surrey, and Mounties suspect alcohol was a factor in the crash.
The incident happened near 141st Street and 100th Avenue, roughly a block from a park, a playground and Lena Shaw Elementary School.
Witnesses told the RCMP the ice cream truck was driving erratically, then hit some garbage cans by the roadside and crashed in a ditch.
"I just thought it was a normal ice cream truck, but then I saw it drive across our grass in our front yard and I also saw it knock over a garbage bin," said Gurpreet Sandhu, another witness to the crash.
Sandhu said several people in the area alerted authorities and tried to help the driver.
"I ran to him, just to make sure he was okay and then a couple of other people called the ambulance,” he said. “He was intoxicated, you could smell it. At that point he tried to walk away but he couldn’t, he was too intoxicated."
The driver, a 46-year-old Surrey resident, was examined by ambulance paramedics at the scene but didn’t suffer any apparent injuries. Witnesses said two tow trucks were needed to pull the vehicle from the ditch.
"Now this one obviously causes us more concern because you have an ice cream truck which you would think is drawing the attention of children that may be on foot,” said Surrey RCMP Cpl. Scotty Schumann.
The ice cream truck’s owner would not appear on camera but told CTV he ran a criminal record check on the driver who had only worked for him for ten days.
Neighbour Lisa Compeau said the situation could have been much worse in the neighbourhood.
"Maybe this is a guy that has a problem,” she said. “But he's lucky that there weren't any kids out walking up and down the street at that time."
Mounties said the driver failed a breathalyzer test and received a 90-day driving prohibition.
Anyone who witnessed the ice cream truck prior to the crash or stopped to help afterward are asked to contact the Surrey RCMP detachment at 604-599-0502 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Julie Nolin
