A 33-year-old man is facing charges, including kidnapping, after he allegedly stole a parked vehicle with a person inside, according to Cape Breton Regional Police.
Around 2 p.m. Thursday, a woman called police and told them someone had stolen her vehicle, which had been parked in front of the Cape Breton Regional Hospital, while she was inside the facility.
She said a man was sitting in the passenger seat when it was stolen, adding that the man was immobile and couldn’t walk or drive.
After looking at video surveillance, police say a man jumped in the vehicle and drove off, with a person still in the passenger seat.
Police dispatch pinged the woman’s cellphone inside the vehicle and tracked it to Beechmont Road.
Police say the driver wouldn’t stop for officers in pursuit, but they were able to cut him off after blocking an intersection at Frenchvale Road, forcing him to stop.
Officers arrested the man around 3:20 p.m.
Paramedics arrived on scene and checked the passenger, but he was not physically injured.
Eric Gordon Fraser of New Waterford, N.S., is in custody at the Cape Breton Correctional Centre.
He is charged with:
- kidnapping
- forcible confinement
- flight from police
- obstructing police
- theft
- dangerous operation of a motor vehicle
- breach of a release order
Fraser is due to appear in Sydney provincial court on Friday.
