Summerside man charged after car rams cruiser, flees scene

A 36-year-old Summerside man is in custody and facing several charges after an incident Tuesday evening that involved a car ramming into a police cruiser.

Police say they received a call shortly after 8:30 p.m. about a Chevrolet Impala that had been involved in a crash on Market Street and had fled the area.

Police located the suspect vehicle shortly afterward in a Bayview Drive parking lot.

"One officer positioned his vehicle behind the suspect's vehicle and a second officer positioned another police vehicle in front of the suspect's vehicle," Sgt. Jason Blacquieretold CBC News.

"It was at that point that the suspect put his car in reverse and accelerated quickly into the front of the police vehicle [behind him]."

He added: "It's a fairly heavy-duty vehicle that was equipped with push bars on the front. So the push bars actually absorbed the impact."

With his vehicle then able to move, police said the man sped away.

Officers decided against a high-speed chase that could have put the public at risk, but said the suspect was located within a few minutes at a local motel, where he was taken into custody.

Nobody was injured in the course of all these events.

The man faces charges of assaulting a police officer, flight from police, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and failing to remain at the scene of an accident.

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