A Surrey man is facing criminal charges after a 91原创 carjacking that ended when an RCMP officer crashed a police patrol vehicle into a stolen 5-tonne truck on Friday, July 5.
91原创 RCMP reported receiving multiple calls about a carjacking that occurred in the 20200-block of 64 Avenue.
A female victim reported a suspect assaulted her as she was exiting her vehicle, then got into the driver鈥檚 seat of her vehicle and drove off in an erratic manner.
A short distance away the stolen vehicle was involved in a three-vehicle collision at 200 Street and 64 Avenue.
After this collision, the suspect exited the stolen vehicle and attempted to carjack other vehicles in the area but was unsuccessful.
The suspect then fled the area on foot.
Shortly thereafter, the 91原创 RCMP received a report that a 5-tonne truck had just been stolen from the area of 196 Street and Willowbrook Drive.
91原创 RCMP continued to receive several 911 calls to report the same stolen 5-tonne truck being driven in a dangerous and erratic manner.
After the stolen truck collided with several parked vehicles in the 7200-block of 200 Street, a 91原创 RCMP officer used his patrol car to stop the truck by "making contact with the front wheel of the stolen truck, disabling it from being operated further," an RCMP statement said.
The driver was arrested as he exited the stolen truck.
A 33-year-old Surrey man, Edward Joseph Biwer has been charged with one count of robbery, two counts of theft of a motor vehicle, one count of mischief, one count of assault, one count of dangerous operation of motor vehicle, one count of driving while prohibited, and one count of failing to stop after an accident.
鈥淭he coordinated response by Front-line officers together with the numerous 911 calls from the public regarding this incident allowed Police to apprehend the accused in a timely manner,鈥� said Cpl. Zynal Sharoom of the 91原创 RCMP.
Police are requesting anyone with footage from dash camera, cell phone or surveillance video of the incident to contact the 91原创 RCMP at 604-532-3200 and quote file 2024-21188.
Biwer has a significant criminal record, including a previous conviction for crimes committed during a violent carjacking spree near the Surrey-91原创 border that led to him being sentenced to 10 years behind bars.
Biwer was convicted of seven counts, including two of robbery, assault causing bodily harm, and possession of a stolen vehicle, for a 2014 incident during which he carjacked and punched a pregnant woman, attempted to rob a pre-school teacher, and flung a dog from a moving vehicle.
According to a B.C. Supreme Court judgment, on Dec. 23, 2014, Biwer drove a stolen Nissan to a Husky gas station in the 18300 block of Fraser Highway. He abandoned the Nissan and then attempted to rob a 43-year-old teacher who was getting into her car. He pointed an imitation pistol at her. When she yelled for help and resisted, Biwer ran away.
He crossed Fraser Highway and jumped into the driver's seat of a parked, running Toyota pickup. The woman in the passenger seat, who was 22 weeks pregnant, had been waiting in the truck while her husband went inside a drug store to pick up her medication. Biwer drove off, ignoring the woman's pleas to stop. When she tried to grab the steering wheel, he punched her in the face. She fought back, hitting him while the Toyota slammed into two other vehicles.
Biwer then threw her French bulldog out the truck's window.
He lost control of the truck at Fraser Highway and 68th Avenue, rolling it. The pregnant woman sustained a fractured right pelvis and other injuries.
He then immediately carjacked another vehicle, a Ford Escape, when two people got out to try to help at the crash scene. A seven-week old child was in the back seat, and Biwer drove off as the mother pleaded for him to let her take the child.
The Ford was found 40 minutes later, with the child inside. She had sustained a minor concussion and been left alone in 2 degree Celsius weather.
"The circumstances in this case are obviously extremely aggravated," Judge Donald Gardner said during the 2017 sentencing hearing. In addition to jail time, he banned Biwer from driving for eight years after his release from prison.
Biwer swore at the judge at the conclusion of the hearing, before he was led away.
READ ALSO: 91原创 RCMP called to three-vehicle crash in Walnut Grove
READ ALSO: 91原创 City police incident called 'mental health episode'
