Four young male drivers, including one from Coquitlam, have had their high-end vehicles impounded after being stopped by police for street racing and excessive speeding early Tuesday morning.
Shortly after 2 a.m. a Port Mann Freeway Patrol officer was monitoring traffic on Highway 1 at Gaglardi Way in Burnaby when he heard several high-performance vehicles speeding westbound. He estimated they were travelling at about 140 km/h in the posted 80 km/h construction zone, said RCMP spokesman Sgt. Peter Thiessen in a press release.
The officer activated his emergency equipment and followed the suspect vehicles, catching up to them at the Cassiar Tunnel, where the speed limit is 70 km/h. He had paced all four vehicles at more than 160 km/h in that zone.
When the suspect divers noticed the patrol car, they slowed to a near stop, allowing the officer to pass them safely, blocking access to the Iron Workers Memorial Bridge.
All four vehicles were registered to their drivers, who were issued $483-tickets for excessive speeding and had their cars impounded for seven days."The permanent forfeiture of the vehicles and any other sanctions regarding these drivers is a government decision based on the police report of the circumstances," Thiessen said.
Three of the four were on learners licences and had previous driving prohibitions.
The first was a 2011 BMW M3 driven by a 22-year-old man with a Class 7 learners licence, and a previous driving prohibition from Dec. 29, 2010 to March 29, 2011.
The second was a 2009 Subaru Impreza operated by a 23-year-old man, with a Class 7 licence and previous prohibitions from Aug. 29 to Oct. 29, 2008 and from Oct. 7, 2010 to Jan. 7, 2011.
The third was a 2010 Nissan 370Z driven by a 21-year-old man with a Class 7 licence, and a previous prohibition from Feb. 4 to Aug. 4, 2010.
The fourth vehicle, a 2008 Porsche Cayman was driven by a 22-year-old man with a Class 5 drivers licence.
"These drivers made a very poor choice resulting in the loss of their vehicles and significant fines," said Thiessen. "They appear to have had a disregard for the public's safety as well as their own."
