A man accused of crashing a semi truck into an RCMP cruiser, speeding through Langley and Surrey, and ditching the vehicle into the Fraser River, is facing a number of criminal charges linked to the incident.
According to online court records, James Robert Howard is charged with assaulting a peace officer with a weapon, dangerous operation of a conveyance, fleeing from police, and possession of stolen property worth over $5,000.
People charged with a crime are considered innocent until proven guilty in court.
The incident began on the evening of Tuesday, May 14 in Langley's Brookswood area.
Officers with the Langley RCMP Special Response Team spotted a semi truck with mismatched license plates, and shortly after midnight on May 15, they tried to pull it over, with the Integrated Police Dog Services team backing them up.
Once the officers activated their lights, the driver immediately began trying to ram police vehicles, according to Sgt. Zynal Sharoom of the Langley RCMP.
The driver struck at least one RCMP cruiser and fled at high speed, heading into Surrey. Officers with the Surrey Provincial Operation Support Unit of the RCMP and the Emergency Response Team (ERT) also became involved in trying to bring the truck to a halt.
Police twice used tire deflation devices, usually called spike belts, and managed to take out first the truck's front right tire, and later the rear tires. The driver kept going, running red lights and overtaking other vehicles.
The truck headed northbound on 176 Street to Highway 17, then west to the Bridgeview area of Surrey, where in what police called a final "reckless" maneuver, it was driven onto an occupied public dock and finally into the Fraser River.
The suspected driver tried to run but was caught by ERT officers nearby.
Photos of the truck being hauled out of the river showed that its rear tires had been reduced to shreds of rubber.
Howard was being held in pre-trial jail, with a bail hearing scheduled for Wednesday, May 21.
