Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 21, 2015, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A3 * Coupons not valid with any other offer. Must present coupon at time of purchase. Limit one coupon per person. Expires July 31 ,2015. Other restrictions may apply, please see dealer for information. Some restrictions apply. FREE TIRE REPAIR CARS • SUVS LOW, LOW PRICES AT ALL 7 DEALERSHIPS! $ 69 each ALL NAME BRAND TIRES ON SALE • LOWER THAN COSTCO! STARTING FROM “ AT YOUR SERVICE” Air Conditioning Inspection for $ 59 .95 * $ 15 * OFF plus taxes. 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COM TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2015 A 3 A $ 200 fine and five demerits are the least of a Winnipeg truck driver’s worries after he allegedly reacted to a distracted- driving ticket by ramming a row of police cruisers and leading officers on a chase west on the Trans- Canada Highway. Now, the suspect could lose his job and is expected to face a litany of criminal charges including dangerous driving, mischief, leaving the scene of an accident and fleeing from police. The driver of a large white truck was ticketed Monday morning and then made a beeline toward the row of parked police vehicles just outside the Public Safety Building, causing significant damage to five police cars. Witnesses saw a white, five- tonne truck deliberately backing into each of the cars. The driver took off, but police caught up with the truck and arrested a man around 1: 15 p. m. outside Portage la Prairie, after officers put down road spike strips to try to stop the vehicle. Winnipeg police and RCMP arrested a suspect, who is in custody with charges pending, Winnipeg police Const. Jason Michalyshen confirmed Monday afternoon. He said the investigation is ongoing with RCMP and police are not releasing anymore information. The suspect was a “ model employee” at a general freight courier company before he allegedly drove his delivery truck into the cruisers and led officers in a pursuit, his employer said. Bill Murray, owner of B& R Transfer, identified the suspect as Wayne Rennie, a man in his 20s who had been working off and on for the family- owned company for a little less than a year. Rennie had been on his way to a scheduled delivery around 10 a. m. when he used his two- way radio to inform his boss he’d received a distracteddriving ticket for using his cellphone while driving, Murray said. The infraction carries a penalty of five demerits and a $ 200 fine. “ I guess he was pretty upset and he decided to take his aggravation out on the police,” Murray said. “ I guess something snapped in his head and you know, he went crazy.” Murray said he told Rennie he hoped the distracted- driving ticket would teach him a lesson and he wouldn’t do it again. “ A couple hours later, I get a call from one of my friends saying, ‘ Have you checked Twitter lately?’ ” News of the damaged cars and police chase was exploding on the social media site, and Murray said he was surprised to see one of his trucks was involved in the hoopla. “ Five minutes later, there’s 10 cops in my office here.” Murray said he tried to communicate with Rennie on the two- way radio, urging him to pull over, and “ he responded, ‘ I don’t care about myself no more.’ ” Insurance is expected to cover the damages. Murray said he’s thankful there were no reported injuries, adding he’ll have to evaluate what will happen to Rennie’s job as criminal charges are expected. “ We’re just glad that no one was hurt in this process. Wayne was a good worker, you know, we have nothing bad to say about the kid. It is what it is. The mind plays funny things on you, I guess,” he said. “ I never expected that. You always hear of it and you never think it could happen to you. Never. It’s just a sad situation.” Kim Martel, who works nearby, witnessed the incident while on her way for a coffee. She saw the truck, with its company logo “ Bill Murray” on the side, travelling down Princess Street when the driver angled the truck and backed into the first car. After that, she said he pulled forward and systematically backed into each of the five police cars parked on the street. “ I thought it was just an accident... I thought he made a mistake,” said Martel. “ And then he just pulled up, and kept backing up to each one, and then took off.” Winnipeg police Sgt. Nick Paulet said at the scene he hoped the suspect would be promptly apprehended. “ When you see this kind of damage happen, it is distressing, obviously, to officers, but it should be to members of the public. I mean, police officers represent the public and the interests of those people. It’s an attack on all of us,” he said. Supt. Bill Fogg inspected the heavily damaged vehicles shortly after the incident. “ We’re just lucky no one got hurt,” Fogg said. aidan. geary@ freepress. mb. ca katie. may@ freepress. mb. ca www. mikeoncrime. com Rampage leads to long pursuit Five police cars damaged in city prior to highway chase By Aidan Geary, Katie May and Mike McIntyre See video and slide show at winnipegfreepress. com ¥ MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The delivery truck allegedly used to ram parked police vehicles in Winnipeg was finally stopped Monday on the south side of the Trans- Canada Highway west of Portage la Prairie. @ WAYNERENNIE22 / TWITTER The owner of the truck involved in a chase Monday identified Wayne Rennie ( above) as the driver. A_ 03_ Jul- 21- 15_ FP_ 01. indd A3 7/ 20/ 15 9: 57: 04 PM ;