The RCMP's Air One helicopter, seen here in a file photo, trailed a motorcycle through several Lower Mainland municipalities, including Burnaby and New Westminster, on Thursday afternoon.
Photograph by: Larry Wright , file photo
For more than two hours on Thursday afternoon, an RCMP helicopter tailed a man on a motorcycle while officers say he sped furiously back and forth through several Metro Vancouver municipalities before finally being arrested just north of Burnaby's Metropolis at Metrotown shopping centre around 7:30 p.m.
The chase began around 4:30 p.m. when an RCMP helicopter on traffic patrol spotted the motorcycle speeding in and out of traffic on Hwy 1 in Coquitlam.
"The observer said it's the worst driving he's ever seen from a motorcyclist," said Sgt. Dwayne Beckerleg of the Burnaby RCMP.
When a cruiser tried to pull the man over, he took off on the bike reaching speeds of more than 150 km/h, according to Beckerleg.
Police cars were held back as the helicopter followed the man while he allegedly sped through Coquitlam, Burnaby, New Westminster, Vancouver and Richmond, looping back through each several times.
The helicopter followed for about two-and-a-half hours until the suspect went "to ground" in Metropolis at Metrotown's underground parkade in southwest Burnaby, according to police.
Multiple police cars immediately flooded the parkade to find the suspect, but he was soon spotted speeding away in a black SUV with a woman behind the wheel, Beckerleg said.
The SUV was stopped several blocks away by a Vancouver police officer near the border with Vancouver at Kingsway and Olive Avenue. The man and the woman were both arrested without incident, Beckerleg said.
Beckerleg said the man is likely facing charges of dangerous driving, excessive speeding and failing to stop for police, but video evidence from the helicopter is still being reviewed. The woman has been released from custody and may yet face charges, he added.
