ANTIGONISH: A 27-year-old man from Shelburne faces multiple charges after a series of dangerous driving incidents on Highway 104, leading to a high-profile police pursuit to the Canso Causeway and back.
The driver, identified as Dylan Edwards, was apprehended in Antigonish after a dramatic chain of events on Sept. 6, that saw him fail to stop for police on several occasions, hitting top speeds of 218 km/h.
The series of incidents began around 6:18 p.m. when Colchester District RCMP officers attempted to pull over a white Ford Mustang traveling at 173 km/h in a 110 km/h zone on Highway 104. The vehicle failed to stop, prompting officers to disengage in the interest of public safety.
Colchester District RCMP promptly alerted their counterparts with the Pictou District RCMP.
By 6:30 p.m., Pictou District RCMP officers encountered the same vehicle speeding at 163 km/h in a 110 km/h zone. Again, the Mustang failed to stop, prompting a second disengagement from officers for safety reasons.
The Pictou District officers notified the Antigonish Detachment of the RCMP.
At 6:53 p.m., Antigonish RCMP officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop as the Mustang was spotted traveling at 144 km/h in a 110 km/h zone.
“During this attempt, officers disengaged the traffic stop for public safety purposes, as the Mustang’s speed increased to 218 km/h,” RCMP Public Information Officer Sgt. Deepak Prasad said.
At 7:13 p.m., Inverness District RCMP, once again tried to stop the vehicle near Aulds Cove after it was seen traveling at 180 km/h in a 70 km/h zone.
“The vehicle crossed into the oncoming lane, causing the officers to disengage in the interest of public safety,” Sgt. Prasad said. “Officers set up a roadblock at the Canso Causeway, where the Ford Mustang attempted to ram into three police officers while trying to evade police.”
The vehicle collided with both a police car and a civilian vehicle before speeding away, but fortunately, no injuries were reported.
As the Mustang continued westbound, RCMP received a 911 call reporting the vehicle’s erratic driving, overtaking vehicles in the oncoming lane. Despite effective efforts to deploy a tire deflation device, the Mustang continued to drive dangerously at high speeds evading police.
Later, the vehicle was found in Antigonish after a concerned member of the public called 911 to report a suspicious vehicle. RCMP officers quickly located the driver and arrested him without further incident.
Upon searching the Mustang, officers seized a sensory irritant.
Edwards now faces multiple charges, including: four counts of flight from police; two counts of dangerous operation of a conveyance; two counts of assaulting a police officer with a weapon; failure to stop at the scene of an accident; common nuisance; possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose; and possession of a weapon while prohibited.
He has been remanded into custody and appeared in Antigonish Provincial Court on Sept. 9.
The RCMP is asking anyone who may have captured footage of any part of this incident on their dash cameras to contact the RCMP Antigonish Detachment at 902-863-6500.