Riding a bike along the Waterfront Trail near Princess Point normally offers a view of foliage, wildlife and Cootes Paradise in Hamilton.
But when Jon Davey pedalled down that path on Aug. 6, he saw a pickup truck barrelling toward him.
“I could tell it wasn’t a parks worker,” he told CBC Hamilton. “I was just shocked.”
Davey tried to get his phone and snap a picture as quickly as possible, but the truck was too far away to get a photo of the licence plate.
What Davey saw was a glimpse of a wild situation that led to an arrest.
Attempted canoe-jacking
Const. Indy Bharaj told CBC Hamilton that police received multiple reports of a driver speeding down the pathway.
“The trail is heavily travelled and fortunately, no one sustained any injuries,” Bharaj wrote in an email.
He said officers learned the 39-year-old man from the Vineland area in the Niagara region also tried — and failed — to steal a canoe from two people in the water.
Davey said the truck was almost submerged in the water. He said he later spoke to people who saw it unfold, including the two in the canoe.
“They were pretty shaken up as well. [The man] apparently wanted to use the canoe as a getaway vehicle.”
The accused tried to flee the scene in the truck, leaving behind the front bumper of his vehicle with the licence plate attached, Bharaj said.
Officers were able to identify the driver and try to get a warrant.
According to Bharaj, that day, shortly after 7 p.m., Durham Regional Police contacted Hamilton police saying they arrested the 39-year-old man for impaired driving.
Davey said there should be bollards along the pathway to prevent any repeat incidents.
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