Driver who blew twice limit slammed into parked police cruiser

Photo: Glacier Media

Prince George courthouse

A man who plowed into the back of an RCMP vehicle while drunk and then tried to flee has been prohibited from driving for a year.

Alfred Prudnikov, 23, was also sentenced Wednesday to one year probation with a suspended sentence and fined $2,000 plus a $300 victim surcharge for the late-night Sept. 21, 2018 incident near Prince George.

Provincial court judge Cassandra Malfair accepted a joint submission from Crown and defence counsels after Prudnikov pleaded guilt to one count each of driving with a blood-alcohol level over .08 and fleeing police.

The move was made after Malfair dismissed in February a claim that Prudnikov's Charter rights had been violated in the arrest.

According to a summary, three RCMP officers were trying to locate a priority offender with outstanding warrants. Two of the officers were parked on either side of Frenkel Road with their interior and exterior lights on when Prudnikov ran his small car into the back of one of the SUVs.

He then pulled a U-turn and tried to flee, but one of the officers rammed the car into a ditch.

Prudnikov, who had drank enough while visiting a friend nearby to register blood-alcohol levels of .13 and .14, was just 100 metres away from his home when the collision occurred.