Dartmouth man flees traffic stop, SUV collides head-on with RCMP vehicle

LAKE ECHO, N.S. — RCMP have charged a Dartmouth man with dangerous and impaired driving after he allegedly fled from police during a traffic stop and ultimately collided with a police cruiser on Saturday afternoon in Lake Echo.

Halifax District RCMP officers conducting routine traffic checks on Highway 7 just after 3 p.m. said a GMC Terrain stopped for just a moment before driving off.

Mounties were able to close the distance and located the truck on Linda Lane where the driver refused to stop and where a passenger left the SUV and fled on foot.

The driver then wove around one police vehicle only to collide head-on with another, leading to his arrest.

Police said the driver initially gave officers a false identity and was showing signs of impairment, however, he refused to provide a blood sample and was sent to hospital for minor injuries suffered in the crash.

The front-seat passenger, a 33-year-old Cole Harbour woman, was also taken to hospital for minor injuries.

The RCMP officer driving the wrecked cruiser also suffered minor injuries.

The passenger who fled on foot, a 34-year-old Lake Echo man, eventually returned to the scene, uninjured, to speak with police.

John William MacDonell, 39, was charged with dangerous driving causing bodily harm, flight from police, failure to stop at the scene of an accident involving bodily harm, impaired driving causing bodily harm, refusal of a demand, assault with a weapon, assaulting a peace officer and two counts of obstructing a peace officer.

He was due to appear in a Dartmouth provincial courtroom today.