Niagara man drove truck down Hamilton trail then tried to steal canoe from people in the water: police
Riding a bike along the Waterfront Trail near Princess Point normally offers a view of foliage, wildlife and Cootes Paradise in Hamilton.
But when Jon Davey┬аpedalled┬аdown that path┬аon┬аAug. 6, he saw a pickup truck barrelling toward him.
“I could tell it wasn’t a parks┬аworker,” he told CBC Hamilton. “I was just shocked.”
Davey tried to get his phone and snap a picture as quickly┬аas possible, but the truck was too far away to get a photo of the┬аlicence plate.
What Davey saw was a glimpse of a wild situation that led to an arrest.
Attempted canoe-jacking
Const. Indy┬аBharaj┬аtold CBC Hamilton that police received multiple reports of a driver speeding down the pathway.
“The trail is heavily travelled and fortunately, no one sustained any injuries,”┬аBharaj wrote in an email.
He said officers learned the 39-year-old man from the Vineland area in the Niagara region also tried тАФ and failed тАФ to steal a canoe from two people in the water.
Davey said the truck was almost submerged in the water. He said he later┬аspoke to people who saw it unfold, including the two in the canoe.
“They were pretty shaken up as well. [The man] apparently wanted to use the canoe as a getaway vehicle.”
The accused tried to flee the scene in the truck, leaving behind the front bumper of his vehicle with the licence plate attached,┬аBharaj┬аsaid.
Officers were able to identify the driver and try to get a┬аwarrant.
According to Bharaj, that┬аday, shortly after 7 p.m., Durham Regional Police contacted Hamilton police saying they arrested the┬а39-year-old man for impaired driving.
Davey said there should be bollards along the pathway to prevent any repeat incidents.
