“He would drive the car forward like he’s trying to drive off the ferry, then back it up and drive it forward again,” says a witness to the incident on the Tuesday night B.C. Ferries sailing from Mayne Island
A man who tried to drive his Tesla off a moving ferry and allegedly struck at least one B.C. Ferries employee on Canada Day faces five charges, including assault with a weapon.
Witnesses said the man was behaving bizarrely leading up to the incident on a vessel travelling from Mayne Island to the Swartz Bay terminal at 9:35 p.m. Tuesday.
“[The] driver of a Tesla seemed to give staff a lot of trouble getting on the boat, and then didn’t really follow their directions, but drove to the front centre of the boat, as if he wanted to be first off,” passenger Martin Farnham told theTimes Colonist.
The passenger said staff let the man stay at the front of the vessel, “but then mid-sailing, he got out and started frantically washing his car, possibly in his underwear,” using bottled water and paper towels.
“He was just being really weird, very agitated,” said Farnham.
The man later opened the gate at the front of the ferry and drove forward as if he was going to drive overboard, said Farnham.
“We’re in the middle of the voyage, off Pender Island, it’s dark and I’m thinking what the hell is this guy doing? You don’t mess with that gate,” said Farnham.
“He was yelling at ferry staff who came out to talk to him. He would drive the car forward like he’s trying to drive off the ferry, then back it up and drive it forward again.
“Every time he did that, everyone on the car deck thought: ‘Is this the time he’s going to drive over the edge?’ ”
B.C. Ferries staff tried to talk to the man and calm him down, and the ferry stopped for a brief time, said Farnham.
“People tried to [block] his tires, but he’d drive over them,” said Farnham, adding the man would hit the brake just before going overboard. “At times, he was backing up aggressively at people. At one point, he hit one of the ferry staff. He was super-agitated.”
Farnham said the man was “almost certainly” in some sort of mental-health crisis. “What I had heard from other passengers is that he was late for an appointment and he wanted ferries to hurry things up.”
Another witness, Pratham Khowala, told CHEK News he saw the man try to hit two people with his vehicle.
When the ferry arrived at Swartz Bay, Sidney/North Saanich RCMP were waiting. Police cruisers blocked the ramp as the ferry approached just after 11:30 p.m. Three officers dragged the man from his car and arrested him.
Farnham said when the ferry docked, the man was “ready to make a run for it, but got back into his car.”
Khowala said B.C. Ferries staff acted quickly and helped passengers feel safe, ushering passengers to the upper decks and out of harm’s way.
Const. Benje Bartley of Sidney/North Saanich RCMP said that as a result of the police investigation, the B.C. Prosecution Service has approved five charges — assault with a weapon, two counts of mischief, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and obstruction.
None of the charges have been proven in court.
The man has been remanded for a court appearance.
Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to contact the Sidney/North Saanich RCMP at 250-656-3931.
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