RCMP vehicle catches fire after collision
Two Portage la Prairie women are facing charges after a stolen SUV struck two RCMP vehicles, including one that caught fire.
A Portage la Prairie RCMP officer tried to make a traffic stop on 8th Street Northwest and 6th Avenue Northwest at 2:15 p.m. on Dec. 24, but the driver would not stop, police said in a news release Thursday. The officer did not follow the SUV because of safety concerns.
Officers later found the vehicle travelling on Road 70 North towards Provincial Road 240, where officers placed a spike belt on the road. The SUV stopped before hitting the belt and then reversed into an RCMP vehicle travelling behind it, police said.
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The SUV and an RCMP vehicle caught fire after colliding on Provincial Road 240.
The SUV then drove over the spike belt and turned south onto Provincial Road 240, where it drove head-on into another police vehicle, RCMP said.
Both vehicles caught fire. Officers removed the two women from the SUV.
Both suspects and one officer were taken to hospital, where they were treated and released.
The alleged driver of the SUV — Michelle Whitford, 32 — is charged with assaulting a police officer with a weapon, dangerous driving, theft of a motor vehicle, flight from police and resisting arrest.
The other woman, age 30, faces charges of flight from police and resisting/obstructing a police officer. She was released from custody.
