Sparks fly as alleged drunk driver drags rim along BC highway (VIDEO)

Over the weekend, Trevor Shewaga and his friends were heading to Mill Bay on Vancouver Island when he noticed sparks shooting from a passing vehicle.

“That guy’s missing his front tire,” Shewaga told his friends. “He either doesn’t know, or something else was going on.”

Shewaga, who was sitting in the passenger seat, said within about 30 seconds, he pulled out his phone to record the incident. His friend who was driving turned the vehicle around to follow the three-wheeled vehicle heading north into Duncan.

“We turned around and pursued him and tried to notify him what was going on and started to realize that maybe he knew what was going on, but he might have been under the influence,” Shewaga told Daily Hive.

Shewaga admitted he was so concerned that he was ready to grab his fire extinguisher if the car caught fire.

“[A fire] extinguisher can’t really do that much, but sometimes it can buy it just enough time to get the person out,” he explained.

BC RCMP confirmed the incident took place Saturday, and the North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP received calls from witnesses around 10 pm about a white car travelling northbound on the Trans-Canada Highway.

Shewaga was one of several witnesses that called the police and followed the vehicle until it was parked at a local business.

“When he pulled over, we stopped just to make sure he was okay. Because you might assume drunk, but also … you never know what’s going on. It’s at least in your best interest to make sure that person is okay.”

Police arrived shortly and spoke to the driver of the 2002 Cadillac Eldorado sedan.

“Through the investigation it was confirmed that the driver had consumed alcohol to a point where their ability to drive was affected,” a statement from the RCMP reads.

The driver’s vehicle was towed and is prohibited from driving for seven days. Additionally, the driver was given an Immediate Roadside Prohibition and was released on scene.

Mounties say there were no injuries reported.

It’s not yet clear how the driver lost a wheel, but an investigation is ongoing to determine what happened.

Police say the driver has admitted to driving from Victoria, and it’s believed that the collision occurred somewhere between the two locations.

Anyone with information about the incident

If you have any information about this incident or “have come across a wheel (or damages consistent with a crash),” the RCMP is urging you to contact the North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP.