Man sentenced for leading police on chase in stolen pickup truck

A Prince George man has been sentenced to a further 391 days in jail for his role in a wild attempt to evade police in a stolen pickup truck.

Colby Selly John Johnson, 33, was also sentenced to two years probation and prohibited from driving for three years on convictions for dangerous driving, flight from a peace officer and possession of stolen property over $5,000.

Johnson was behind the wheel of one of two pickup trucks stolen in Quesnel on Dec. 19, 2015.

Dale Al West, 36, was driving the other one, in which Brittany Jean Schram,21, was a passenger.

Mounties pinged West's cellphone as they headed north to Prince George on Highway 97 and tracked them down to the Willowcale Forest Service Road just south of the city.

West and Johnson had a history of leading police on chases and, as expected, they took off when they saw the Mounties. With police in pursuit, Johnson jumped out of the pickup he was driving while it was still rolling and let it crash off the side of the road. He got into the pickup West was driving, and where Schram was the passenger, while it was still moving.

Reaching speeds of up to 130 km/h, and with a snowblower in the back, West drove onto Buckhorn Lake Road where RCMP had laid out a spike strip. It flattened the tires on one side of the truck but that was not enough to stop West from turning around and making his way onto Highway 97.

Once on the highway, and travelling at about 100 km/h, he swerved into the oncoming lane and nearly struck two snowplows as well as one of the marked RCMP general duty vehicles heading towards him from the north.

RCMP called off the chase and watched West swerve back over four lanes and roll the pickup into the northbound ditch. Johnson struggled out of the pickup and fled. With the help of a service dog, he was eventually apprehended. West and Schram gave themselves up at the scene.

Sentenced Thursday in Prince George provincial court, Johnson had been in custody for 431 days. In April 2016, West, who had also remained in custody since his arrest, was sentenced to a further year in jail. And in May 2016, Schram was was sentenced to one year probation.