New Westminster police spent Wednesday afternoon attending to two separate traffic collisions; one in the 1400-block of Edinburgh Street and the other at Cumberland Street and 10th Avenue.
At around 2:20 p.m. on July 24, officers received a report of an "erratic" driver in the 1400-block of Edinburgh Street, and while on route, the report was updated to a hit-and-run.
According to a press release, a driver allegedly hit several vehicles and a telephone pole before getting out of his vehicle and fleeing the scene on foot. Witnesses attempted to follow the driver, but it wasn't until after police arrived that he was located on the front lawn of a home in the 800-block of 14th Street.
The driver was taken into custody, where police determined he was suffering from medical complications relating to "the improper consumption of a controlled substance." He was then taken to hospital, according to the release.
While officers were investigating the scene at Edinburgh Street, they received a call of another accident, this time at Cumberland Street and 10th Avenue.
A motorcyclist, heading southbound on Cumberland, was attempting to turn left onto 10th Avenue when a vehicle travelling northbound struck him. The motorcyclist sustained serious but non-life threatening injuries and was taken to hospital, according to the release.
Staff Sgt. Paul Hyland was unable to say whether the drivers in both accidents were still in hospital. The accidents remain under investigation and no charges have been laid at this time, he added.
"The NWPD want to take this opportunity to remind the public to be careful driving at this time of year. Even with good weather and road conditions, momentary inattention can turn an easily avoidable incident into a significant collision, involving serious injury or worse," he said in the release.
