Crimes | Extra help brought in to deal with incidents

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By ADAM BOWIE
bowie.adam@dailygleaner.com

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The City of Fredericton was forced to call in extra emergency responders early Sunday to deal with an evening of mayhem.

The Fredericton Police Force and the Fredericton Fire Department responded to Riverside Drive at 2:20 a.m. Sunday to deal with a head-on collision between a car and a minivan.

Cpl. Mark Lord said emergency workers arrived to discover that five passengers had sustained injuries.

"The two drivers were severely injured," he said.

Lord said the passengers were sent to hospital and one of the drivers had to be transferred to a special unit at Saint John Regional Hospital.

He said a number of charges are pending. Both drivers will be charged with impaired driving.

"One drunk driver hit another drunk driver, if you can believe that," said Lord.

One of the drivers will also be charged with operating a stolen motor vehicle, possession of an undisclosed quantity of illegal cigarettes and being unlawfully at large.

The two vehicles were damaged extensively and firefighters had to use the Jaws of Life to extract some of the passengers from the wreckage.

Fredericton Fire Department's platoon Capt. Ken Dickeson said the crash required a significant rescue effort.

"The driver was trapped in one vehicle and it took (firefighters) about a half hour or so to get him out," he said.

Law enforcement officials said two other motorists will face charges of impaired driving from other incidents that occurred throughout the evening.

Lord said officers were called to the mini-home park on Hanwell Road for an incident at about 10 p.m. Saturday. An intoxicated male teenager drove a stolen vehicle into several parked cars.

"An impaired driver - in a stolen vehicle - was driving around smashing into vehicles," he said. "I know it's hard to believe, but that's the case."

He said the teenager will face charges of hit and run, dangerous driving, impaired driving and theft of a vehicle.

Another impaired driver was pulled over without incident at 4:30 a.m. Sunday.

Police officers also responded to two break-and-enters at homes located on the city's south side.

Lord said a man entered a southside residence early Sunday morning and started waving two knives around and uttering threats. The residents who lived there notified police and the man fled on foot with another male suspect. No one was injured during the encounter.

The city's K-9 unit responded to the scene and tracked the men to another nearby residence where the suspects were taken into custody.

The knife-wielding suspect will face charges of assault with a weapon, unlawfully entering a residence, uttering threats and breach of probation.

The man's accomplice was also arrested for possession of a controlled substance.