At approximately 7:00 a.m. on Thursday, June 26, 2014, STAT officers in an unmarked police vehicle were conducting traffic enforcement on Anthony Henday Drive near Yellowhead Trail. The STAT officers were in the process of initiating a vehicle stop, when a Mazda Speed 3 passed them at such a high rate of speed that it shook the police vehicle. The Mazda continued northeast on Anthony Henday, all the while constantly changing lanes and dodging heavy traffic during the morning commute. The car continued to accelerate away and officers clocked the car at a speed of 170 km/h in the 100 km/h zone. The car exited onto St. Albert Trail and quickly accelerated to approximately 100 km/h in the 70 km/h zone. The Mazda continued southbound and turned west onto 156 Street at a car dealership where the STAT unit intercepted the car.
The STAT officers discovered that there were three occupants in the Mazda Speed 3: the 38-year-old male driver, a 37 year-old female in the passenger seat, and a two-year-old male in the back seat.
When officers asked the driver why he was going so quickly, he said “I had an appointment,” then “I’m dropping the child off at his grandparents,” and “when you're speeding you don't realize how fast you are going.” Finally the driver said he “was being chased by another vehicle,” which was not witnessed by police nor reported to 911.
Police STAT officers consulted with the Crown Prosecutor’s Office on the file, and charged the 38-year-old driver of the Mazda Speed 3 with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and child endangerment under the Criminal Code of Canada.
Police continue to intercept drivers travelling at very high speeds, and so far in 2014 there have been 214 mandatory court tickets issued for excessive speeding (more than 50 km/h over the posted speed limit), and 19,038 speeding tickets issued by officers. In 2013, there were a total of 369 mandatory court tickets and 32,398 speeding tickets issued by EPS officers.
“These excessive speed incidents happen all too often and we hear a lot of justifications from drivers, but regardless, there are no excuses for travelling that fast,” says Sgt. David Green with EPS STAT.