Drunk driver with expired learners' permit crashes into 2 parked cars in Vancouver police say

This photo shared on Twitter by the VPD shows damage to a truck whose driver allegedly crashed into two parked cars while drunk.

A 47-year-old man who was driving drunk with an expired learners' permit crashed into two parked cars in Vancouver's West End before being arrested, according to authorities.

The Vancouver Police Department's Traffic Unit posted about the incident on Twitter, saying a 911 caller followed the driver until police could pull him over. Photos show the "extensive damage" done to the driver's car and one of the parked vehicles. A second tweet says the man last had a valid Class 7L license in 2020 and had a blood alcohol level 2.5 times the legal limit.

In an email, a VPD spokesperson tells CTV News the incident was reported around 11:30 p.m. First, the man hit a minivan parked near Davie and Jervis streets, "pushing it onto the curb and into a tree," the statement says, adding that he continued driving afterward. Next, he crashed into a vehicle parked roughly 15 blocks away at Gilford and Alberni.

"He will be facing impaired driving charges and was served several violation tickets. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured," the email from the VPD says.

An average of 64 people die in crashes involving impaired driving every year in British Columbia, according to ICBC statistics. That figure represents roughly one quarter of all crash-related fatalities. Thirty-six per cent of impaired driving crashes happen between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m., the insurer notes.