A six-year-old child was taken to hospital following an alleged drunk driving incident in Sylvan Lake last week.
Emergency crews arrived on the scene of a two-vehicle collision at the intersection of Highway 20 and Highway 11 shortly after 10 p.m. on July 8.
There it was determined that a Ford F-350 truck had collided with a minivan. Emergency crews were told by witnesses on scene that the truck’s male driver and lone occupant had been seen discarding a number of cans from the truck before fleeing in the direction of a nearby golf course.
Police approached the truck, which had come to rest in a ditch, only to find it void of any occupants. They did, however, find several cans of liquor inside.
Witnesses pointed out to police the direction in which the truck’s driver allegedly fled. With the assistance of Police Dog Services, he was soon found in an adjacent field a short distance away.
A six-year-old child, one of two occupants in the minivan at the time of the collision, was taken to hospital by ambulance with what were determined to be minor injuries.
Kevin James Connolly, 25, of Red Deer, has been charged with impaired driving, driving while over 0.08, dangerous driving, fleeing the scene of an accident, driving while disqualified, two counts of breaching a probation order and theft of a motor vehicle.
The suspect is in custody with a court appearance scheduled for July 22 in Red Deer.