An apparent high-speed police chase through part of Hay River that resulted in a resident’s truck being hit is “under review,” RCMP said this week.
Nicolinea Minakis said she was driving her daughter to school at around 8am on January 21 when another vehicle crashed into the side of her pickup truck.
Minakis said she was making a left turn from 102 Avenue onto the Hay River Highway when the truck, carrying Minakis and her 15-year-old daughter, was T-boned by a vehicle being pursued by RCMP.
This week, an RCMP spokesperson confirmed by email that a man was arrested at the scene and subsequently charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, as well as flight from a peace officer.
A person with charges identical to those mentioned is set to appear in court in Hay River on March 10.
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The spokesperson said after the arrest was made, those involved in the collision were assessed and brought into a warm environment as the investigation continued.
While the spokesperson said RCMP have a “clear, established policy relative to vehicle pursuits,” they did not say if the police officer involved acted in violation of the policy.
In a response received after this article was first published, a spokesperson said in short, the RCMP’s policy on pursuits is: “We do not initiate or continue a vehicle pursuit unless we reasonably believe that the suspect has committed or is imminently about to commit a serious act of violence against another person, and only if failing to immediately arrest the suspect would pose a greater risk to public safety than a pursuit.”
The truck Minakis was driving has been deemed a “total loss” by her insurance company, meaning it will not be repaired and she will instead receive a payout for the value of the vehicle once it is appraised.
After initially being told she didn’t qualify for a CT scan at Yellowknife’s Stanton Territorial Hospital, Minakis said her doctor in Hay River advocated for her and she eventually returned to Yellowknife for the scan, which she said came back clear.
However, Minakis said she continues to experience severe headaches and neck pain on a daily basis as a result of the collision.
