Collision sends constables, driver to hospital

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A pair of RCMP constables are feeling lucky to see the new year arrive after an allegedly speeding driver crashed his van into the officers' parked cruiser near Terrace, B.C., sending all three to a nearby hospital.

David Schiffer, a 35-year-old Czech national working in Terrace, was driving on Highway 16 near Ferry Island late Friday night when Constable Philip Crack and Auxiliary Constable Shelley Ullery clocked his white van travelling more than 120 kilometres an hour in a 50 km/h zone.

The officers say he hit the brakes but lost control, and seconds later the van careened sideways into the back of the police car they were sitting in.

Both constables and Mr. Schiffer were taken by ambulance to Mills Memorial Hospital and later released, and though the extent of their wounds has not been divulged, the RCMP considers them fortunate.

"Had they been standing at the rear of the marked police vehicle, or using a different speed-reading device and not seated in the police vehicle at the time, we could have easily had a fatality," said RCMP Corporal Dan Moskaluk.

Mr. Schiffer later appeared before a justice of the peace, and faces numerous charges including impaired driving and dangerous driving.

In a statement, the RCMP noted that both constables have families in an effort to hammer home their frequent warnings about the grave consequences of unsafe driving. The officers were working on routine traffic enforcement, which is often heightened around the new year, and Auxiliary Constable Ullery was working as a volunteer.

"This is exactly why our members are out in full force during the holiday season," said Sergeant Pam Scott. "Some people just don't seem to get the message – drunk driving injures and kills."

The statement also said both vehicles suffered substantial damage, and that the cruiser that was struck was the newest in the fleet.