The BC Highway Patrol (BCHP) sounds pretty upset and has a message for parents after an incident involving a teen on an electric motorcycle in North Vancouver.
“Every parent who thinks about buying an electric ‘off-road’ motorcycle should consider this video,” BCHP said in a release.
BCHP is asking parents of a young male, or anyone who knows him, to come forward after he fled from police in North Vancouver.
The video has no sound but shows a BCHP patrol officer arriving at the intersection at the same time as the motorcycle-riding teen. As the officer approaches, the teen speeds away.
The situation unfolded just after 6 p.m. on Aug. 28 on Grand Boulevard in North Van. Instead of stopping, the teen driver accelerated through the stop sign and fled.
“A lot of people are buying electric motorcycles that have no pedals, no signal lights, and no business on public roads,” said BCHP Sergeant Michael McLaughlin in a press release.
“Your children might ‘promise’ to ride their machines responsibly and keep off public roads, but that’s not what’s happening,” McLaughlin said to parents after the North Vancouver incident.
BCHP said the rider appeared to have a “low level of skill” and nearly crashed into a car before he fled. Instead of pursuing, the officer chose to pull over to prevent the rider from harming himself or someone else.
In the video, the rider’s face is blurred because of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
BCHP has offered a description of the rider, saying that he was between 14 and 18 years old, with brown skin, clean-shaven with a receding chin, and at the time was wearing a white bicycle helmet with a visor, a black hoodie, black cuffed jeans, and black Adidas sneakers.
“We’re seeing an increasing number of young riders who attempt to bait police into a pursuit,” McLaughlin said.
“This is stupid. Police are trying to keep everyone safe, and we need parents to start helping us out so we can prevent their kids from hurting themselves, or worse.”
Anyone with info is being asked to call BCHP at 604-892-6100.