Calgary police have laid several charges against a man from B.C. after he passed out behind the wheel of his truck in downtown and caused disruptions to CTrain service earlier this week.
Officers were called to the intersection of 5 Avenue and 9 Street SW on Monday after getting reports the driver of a black GMC Sierra was slumped over in the intersection with the truck running.
The vehicle was still running and the break lights were on when police got there. The CTrain barrier had also fallen onto the truck bed.
Police say the driver appeared to be unconscious.
Believing the vehicle was still in drive, officers contained the vehicle to prevent it from lurching forward when the driver was approached.
Officers tried to wake the driver using sirens and loud speakers, but he still wasn’t responding.
Police were concerned about his condition and broke the passenger door window to gain entry.
The driver woke up and was taken out of the vehicle.
At that time, officers found open alcohol and drug paraphernalia.
Also discovered in the searched was a folding knife hidden in the driver’s waistband, crystal meth, crack cocaine, three nitrous oxide cannisters, and more than $500 in cash.
Police say the estimated street value of the seized drugs is $5,100.
“This driver put pedestrians, motorists and CTrain occupants at risk in a heavily populated area of our downtown. Had his foot slipped off the brake when he became unconscious, people likely would have been hurt. This is entirely unacceptable and we will hold him, and other suspected impaired drivers, accountable to the full extent of the law,” said Traffic Section Insp. Rob Patterson.
“I’d also like to thank our patrol officers who bravely stepped up to put themselves in harm’s way of this large truck to stop the threat to our public.”
Forty-one-year-old Cody Stephen Roderick Allen of Kelowna is charged with two counts of possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking, one count of possession of proceeds of property obtained by crime, one count of Criminal Code impaired driving, one count of carrying a concealed weapon, one summons under the Traffic Safety Act for driving an uninsured motor vehicle on a highway, and one summons under the Gaming Liquor and Cannabis Regulations of transporting liquor in an open container.
He is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 14.
