Winkler Police have arrested a suspect after a car chase that left two officers injured in a single vehicle accident.

On Saturday, March 11 at approximately 9:20 p.m members of the Winkler Police Service attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a blue panel van driving erratically on Main Street.

The driver did not stop, but accelerated in an attempt to evade officers.

Police pursued with assistance from the Morden and Altona Police Services.

During the chase the suspect drove into a yard in Reinfeld where he exited the vehicle and fled on foot.

Officers in a Winkler Police Service patrol car attempted to follow the suspect into the yard, but slippery conditions contributed to the car colliding with a tree. The vehicle was left inoperable.

However, the officers were able to exit the car and apprehend four occupants from the suspect vehicle. Police were unable to find the driver.

Through the subsequent investigation, Winkler Police identified the suspect and on March 12, 2017 he was placed under arrest.

Ricky Friesen, age 25 of Reinfeld, has been charged with Operating a Motor Vehicle in a Manner Dangerous to the Public, Failing to Stop in Order to Evade Peace Officers, and Fail to Comply with Conditions of a Recognizance.  

Friesen has also been charged under the Highway Traffic Act with having open liquor in a vehicle and two counts of driving a motor vehicle on a highway when there are more persons in it than seating positions for which seat belts have been provided.

Friesen was released on a Recognizance before a Judicial Justice of the Peace and is set to appear in Morden Provincial Court on April 25, 2017.

The two Winkler Police Service officers involved in the collision were treated and released at hospital.