Trail and Greater District RCMP weekly report - 2024-01-24

Hit and run incident in Fruitvale

File # 2024-233

On Friday, January 19, 2024, at 5:35 p.m. frontline Trail and Greater District RCMP officers responded to a report of a 67-year-old Fruitvale man who was struck by a truck with a plow while shoveling snow outside his property in the 1000 block of Highway 3B in Fruitvale, BC. The driver of the truck fled the scene after striking the man. The man was knocked down and lay on the road until discovered by a witness.

The man suffered a serious laceration to his left arm. BC EHS transported him to the Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital for medical treatment. The investigation into this crime is underway.

The truck is described as a newer model with a snow plow on the front. Trail RCMP is looking to speak to any witness to this incident or to anyone who knows the identity of the driver of the truck with the plow. Investigators are looking to speak to anyone with video surveillance that may have capture this truck travelling through the area around 5:25 p.m..

If you have any information about this crime, or video surveillance footage, please contact the Trail Detachment at 250-364-2566 to speak to the investigator.

Break, Enter, and Mischief at Rossland school

File # 2024-250

On Saturday, January 20, 2024, at 11:05 p.m. frontline Trail and Greater District RCMP officers responded to a commercial alarm triggered at the Seven Summits French Immersion School in the 2000 block of St. Paul Street, in Rossland, BC. Officers cleared the building after arriving on scene. While no one was located inside the school, officers discovered that someone had discharged a fire extinguisher in the staff room.

Surveillance footage revealed that five youth sized children running from the scene after one discharged the fire.

If you have any information about the identities of the youth, please contact the Trail Detachment at 250-364-2566.

Ooooo, someone’s going to get a detention… says Sgt. Wicentowich

Weather and road conditions lead to a number of single motor vehicle incidents

On Sunday, January 21, and Monday, January 22, 2024, frontline Trail and Greater District RCMP officers received and responded to a number of single motor vehicle incidents in the Trail and Greater District area. Most vehicles were left in place by the owners until a local towing company could attend. Some of the vehicles were obstructing roadways and caused lengthy delays to other motorists.

Old Mill Road and Bluebird Road in Fruitvale, BC, were particularly treacherous and a number of vehicles had slipped off the icy road surface. A public transit bus was stuck for several hours on Old Mill Road until it could be towed.

Officers managed incident scenes until local road maintenance arrived.

Trail RCMP recommends that the public take precautions such as:

• Check road and weather conditions before travel
• Have good winter tires.
• Have a first aid and roadside emergency kit.
• Have spare warm clothing in the vehicle
• Having a shovel and traction device
• Carry a cell phone or communication device.
• Let someone know where you are going and when you intend to arrive if you are taking an extended trip.
• For more information, visiting ICBC Winter Driving Tips: Winter driving (icbc.com)

Trail and Greater District RCMP does it best to manage the number of incidents that occur when bad weather and poor road conditions combine to create some treacherous road surfaces. Please not rely on timely road maintenance to improve road conditions before you travel, and avoid areas in which motor vehicles incidents are actively occurring until maintenance attends, says Sgt. Wicentowich

Trail and Greater District 4th Quarter and Year End 2023 Statistics

In the 4th Quarter of 2023:

• The attempted murder of a local Trail man occurred when he was shot in his home and survived.
• Most offences remained the same or similar to 2022 4th Quarter Statistics with no significant changes.
• Theft from motor vehicle dropped to new lows as the public continued to be proactive when securing their vehicles and items.
• Impaired driving enforcement remained a priority with 28 impaired drivers taken off the road.
• Mental health related calls dropped from 80 to 58 believed in part due to an increase in the number of paramedics in the area.
• Files involved drugs and alcohol have nearly tripled believed to have been influenced by the environment of de-criminalization.
• Total calls for service down approximately 5% when compared to the 4th Quarter of 2022.

In 2023:

Most offences remained the same or similar to 2023 with no significant changes.

• Theft from motor vehicle dropped to new lows as the public continued to be proactive when securing their vehicles and items.
• Drug investigations dropped to a yearly low believed due to the BC wide de-criminalization legislation.
• Impaired driving enforcement remained a priority with 90 impaired drivers taken off the road.
• Check well-beings, suspicious persons/vehicles/occurrences, and unspecific assistance rose as the police are frequently contacted to deal with a variety of scenarios.
• Files involving alcohol and drugs rose a significant amount to 394 (from 267 in 2022). This is believed to be linked to rise in the public consumption of drugs in our community.
• Mental health related calls dropped from 80 to 58 believed in part due to an increase in the number of paramedics now working in the area. BC EHS greatly assisted other frontline services with their increased resources in 2023.
• Total calls for service in 2023 were up approximately 5% when compared to 2022.