Nanaimo teen has vehicle impounded for ‘stunting’ during snowstorm

An 18-year-old driver had his vehicle impounded for "stunting" in a mall parking lot during Monday's snowstorm, RCMP say. (Nanaimo RCMP)

Police in Nanaimo say they impounded a blue Toyota 4 Runner after its 18-year-old driver was caught “stunting” in a local parking lot during Monday’s snowstorm.

Officers were called to the North Town Centre mall around 7 p.m. for reports of “excessive noise and vehicles doing ‘donuts’ and burnouts in the mall parking lot,” Nanaimo RCMP said in a news release Thursday.

Police arrived to find the 4 Runner “driving erratically” with two people inside.

“The attending officer also recognized the suspect driver from a similar encounter earlier in the day,” the release reads. “That interaction ended with the officer issuing a verbal warning to the man.”

The officer issued a violation ticket for driving without consideration and had the vehicle towed and impounded for seven days, police said.

“In some cases, verbal warnings can be an effective deterrent,” said Const. Gary O’Brien, in the release.

“However, in this case it didn’t seem to have any impact on the individual, nor his driving habits.”

Police said the 18-year-old driver “was quite apologetic and told the officer he had learned his lesson.”

“Time will tell,” the release concludes.