A 24-year-old Sable River man is in hospital with life-threatening injuries after fleeing an RCMP checkpoint early Saturday morning. (File photo from RCMP NS Facebook page)

An early-morning checkpoint and a flight from police have left a 24-year-old Sable River man in hospital with life-threatening injuries.

About 1 a.m on Saturday morning, Queens District RCMP officers had a checkpoint set up on Milton Road near Liverpool. A Volkswagen Golf approached and then made an abrupt U-turn to head north on Highway 8.

According to a news release, an RCMP officer immediately left the scene to try to stop the Golf.

RCMP spokesman Cpl. Guillaume Tremblay told QCCR on Monday that the cruiser was not involved in the crash. The officer found the car off the road and on its roof.

Along with the driver who was sent to hospital with life-threatening injuries, the car’s passenger was also injured. She is a 25-year-old woman from East Green Harbour. Her injuries were not life-threatening. 

Cpl. Tremblay did not have an update Monday on their conditions.

“Our officers will do checkpoints at random times throughout the day. From my experience, 1 a.m. is not abnormal. We often do checkponts through the night to conduct traffic enforcement such as impaired drivers that might be out there,” he said in an intervew.

“Oftentimes, there could be many reasons why someone may conduct a U-turn before a checkpoint. It could be a legitimate reason, but it could also be a reason because the person could be impaired, it could be because they don’t have a drivers licence, it could be because they’re wanted. And oftentimes our officers will then get in their vehicle and try to pull over the vehicle that proceeds with the U-turn.” 

Cpl. Tremblay did not know exactly where on the Milton Road the checkpoint was set up.

Highway 8 was closed for several hours, while a collision reconstructionist visited the scene. 

Cpl. Tremblay says officers continue to investigate.

“The investigation remains ongoing. That could involve criminal charges such as flight from police. The same goes for any impairment level. Our officers would be looking to obtain search warrants or warrants to seize any blood … just to determine if the person was impaired at the time of the crash or not.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Queens General Hospital. Photo Ed Halverson

The emergency department at Queens General Hospital in Liverpool will be closed until Friday (Aug. 2) at 8 a.m.

Nova Scotia Health announced the temporary closure in a news release on Sunday.

No reason was given for the closure, but in the past officials have blamed staffing shortages.

The ER at South Shore Regional Hospital in Bridgewater will be open.

Patients of Queens Family Health can access the same-day clinic, depending on provider availability, by calling 902-354-3322.

A mobile primary care clinic is scheduled to be at Queens General on Tuesday (July 30) from 1 to 4 p.m., Wednesday (July 31) from 1 to 4 p.m. and on Thursday (Aug. 1) from 9 a.m. to noon.

The emergency department at Queens General Hospital in Liverpool will be closed at various times this weekend. (Communications Nova Scotia)

The emergency department at Queens General Hospital in Liverpool will be on limited hours for the weekend and early next week.

It will be closed on Friday, Saturday (July 20), Sunday (July 21), Monday (July 22) and Tuesday (July 23) at 1:30 p.m. each day and reopen at 8 a.m. the next day.

For example, it will reopen on Saturday at 8 a.m., but close again at 1:30 a.m. and reopen Sunday at 8 a.m.

The ER at South Shore Regional Hospital in Bridgewater will be open.

Nova Scotia Health says that anybody experiencing a medical emergency should call 911.

Patients of the Queens Family Health same-day clinic can call 902-354-3322 to book an appointment through the week for new and emerging health problems, depending on provider availability.

You can also talk to a nurse for general health advice by calling 811, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.