Two men arrested after fleeing police

Two men are in custody in Salmon Arm after fleeing from police in Kelowna.

Salmon Arm RCMP say officers in Kelowna attempted to stop a Ford F350 at approximately 9:15 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 6, that was suspected of being involved in property crime in the area.

The vehicle fled from the traffic stop, and RCMP surveillance units and Air Services were deployed.

The vehicle was located and tracked from Kelowna to Vernon, and police say it was driving dangerously, including disregarding red lights and using the shoulder of the road to pass vehicles on the righthand side.

At approximately 10:15 a.m., plainclothes officers in Salmon Arm set up in a rural area and deployed a spike belt.

The suspect vehicle hit the spikes, but continued to drive as the tires deflated and disintegrated.

The driver then lost control of the vehicle a short distance from where the spike belt was deployed and went off the road and into a deep mud and water-filled ditch where it came to an abrupt stop.

The two men in the vehicle then tried to escape through the sunroof of the truck, but RCMP Emergency Response Team members were able to apprehend them.

After being checked at the hospital, one of the men was released to police custody while the other was held for observation of minor non-life threatening injuries under RCMP guard.

The two men were found to have warrants for their arrest from Fort St. John, Salmon Arm and Kamloops. One of them was also found to be in breach by being in a motor vehicle and not residing in Fort St. John as ordered.

Police in Kelowna and Salmon Arm are both investigating this, and any other incidents, the men may have been involved in.