Man sentenced for highway chase

By Delon Shurtz on June 15, 2021.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A 43-year-old man who smashed a car window with a machete then chased the driver and passenger from Coaldale to Lethbridge has been sentenced to eight months in jail.
Daniel Edward Collier was sentenced Friday in Lethbridge provincial court, where he pleaded guilty to charges of assault with a weapon, dangerous driving and drug possession. He was also placed on probation, prohibited for 10 years from possessing weapons, and ordered to submit a sample of his DNA for the National DNA Databank.
Court was told Collier encountered his ex-girlfriend and another man at a Coaldale gas station at about 6 p.m. on May 9, and smashed the driver side window with a machete. The couple sped away, but Collier chased them along Highway 3 to Lethbridge, weaving dangerously between other vehicles and reaching speeds up to 160 km/h.
As the fleeing vehicle approached Lethbridge and slowed down at 43 Street, Collier ran into the back of the vehicle. The vehicle continue to flee, and Collier eventually ditched his vehicle and ran away. Police found him shortly afterward a short distance away, and during a search discovered Collier was carrying one ounce of methamphetamine.
Lethbridge lawyer Tracy Hembroff explained the woman was Collier’s girlfriend at one point, but she became involved with the other man while Collier was previously serving a jail term.
Collier, who has an extensive criminal record, has a significant addiction to meth, Hembroff said, and can “easily” ingest 10-12 grams of the drug a day. She said all of Collier’s past criminal offences are drug-related, and while he was sitting in a field following the car chase but before police apprehended him, he consumed nearly four grams of meth.
“He is a poster child for what drugs do to somebody,” Hembroff said.
Although sentenced to 240 days in jail, Collier was given credit for the equivalent of 51 days spent in pre-trial custody, reducing his sentence to 189 days.

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