North Vancouver flagger hit on leg by SUV in incident of possible road rage

Police are investigating reports that a flagger doing traffic control in North Vancouver’s notoriously busy Deep Cove neighbourhood was hit by a vehicle over the Easter long weekend during an incident of possible road rage.

The incident happened March 31, just before 4 p.m. after the driver of a Nissan SUV refused to follow directions of a flagger near the intersection of Gallant Avenue and Panorama Drive.

Instead of following directions, the driver “kept inching forward in an intimidating way” witnesses told police, and eventually “struck the flagger on their leg,” said Const. Mansoor Sahak, spokesman for the North Vancouver RCMP.

The flagger eventually stepped out of the way and let the driver through.

The flagger was later treated in hospital.

Following the incident, multiple witnesses called police with the license plate number of the vehicle involved.

Sahak said he didn’t have any information on injuries suffered by the flagger. The incident was described as the flagger being repeatedly nudged by the vehicle – something Sahak described as dangerous.

“Flagging is a very difficult job,” he said. “When drivers are impatient it puts them at that much more risk.”

“In general, Deep Cove is known to be a high traffic area,” he said. “We’re asking drivers to be patient.”

As part of the investigation, police will be following up with the driver of the SUV, said Sahak. It is possible that charges will be recommended.

The incident happened at a time when District of North Vancouver council recently met to discuss what to do about traffic gridlock in Deep Cove – balancing the needs of area residents with large numbers of tourists who tend to flood into the area on sunny weekends.

Resident-only parking areas, time-limited parking and running shuttles are among the measures that have been put forward as possible solutions although the issue has yet to go to council for a vote.