Dartmouth teen facing slew of charges after crashing into highway median

A 17-year-old from Dartmouth is facing a number of charges after evading police twice and driving dangerously on a Nova Scotia highway.

The incident happened March 13 just after 8:00 a.m. when the West Hants RCMP received a report of a car “driving erratically” on Highway 101 near Windsor, N.S. Officers found the vehicle once while driving, and a second time parked just off the road.

Both times the driver sped away from police. On the second interaction, police noted that the car’s licence plate was reported stolen.

An hour later a 2004 Honda Accord tried to pass a RCMP cruiser on the highway. The officer saw the car coming and turned on the lights to signal for the vehicle to stop.

“Immediately after overtaking the police vehicle, the car hit the median concrete divider and the guard rail, then stopped after hitting the median a second time,” the RCMP release reads.

The teen driver from Dartmouth was arrested and was sent to hospital. Police searched the vehicle and found cocaine and a knife, which led to the teen being charged with operation while impaired by drug, possession of a weapon for dangerous purpose, and possession for the purpose of trafficking (cocaine).

The youth appeared in Windsor court on March 14 and remains in custody.

“There were no other vehicles involved in this crash and no reports of collisions with other vehicles,” the release notes. “Police appreciated cooperation from the public while a portion of Hwy. 101 was reduced to one lane as officers were on scene after the crash.”

Officials are asking anyone with dashcam footage or surveillance video showing the crash or the actions leading up to it should contact West Hants RCMP Detachment at 902-798-2207.