(ADAM PROSKIW / iNFOnews.ca)

TWO SUSPECTS ARRESTED IN VERNON

KAMLOOPS – A man and woman are scheduled to appear in court tomorrow to face charges in connection with a car crash and subsequent carjacking in Kamloops, while police actions in connection to the collision are under investigation.

It all started Friday afternoon on the North Shore when police were waiting for a tow truck to hook up a vehicle believed to be involved in a series of lottery ticket thefts from stores in Kamloops last week, according to a RCMP media release.

Police say the two suspected thieves jumped into the SUV and took off. The suspect vehicle was spotted by other units on the South Shore, but “due to the public traffic present and the manner in which it was being driven” officers didn’t give chase.

Moments later the SUV was involved in a crash with another vehicle in the intersection of 8 Avenue and Columbia Street seriously injuring a man and woman.

The suspects escaped by stealing a man’s vehicle who had stopped to provide assistance, police say.

The man and woman injured in the crash are still in the hospital.

RCMP say on Saturday, May 28, Vernon police got a report about lottery ticket thefts from a store in the city. Officers located the vehicle stolen in Kamloops and arrested a man and woman.

They were injured during the arrest but RCMP will only say “arrangements were made to have the suspects medically assessed.”

A 42-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman are in custody but have yet to be charged. They are scheduled to appear in Kamloops court Monday, May 30.

The Independent Investigation Office of B.C. is investigating police actions surrounding the Friday afternoon collision in Kamloops.

“The focus of our investigation will be whether or not police action or inaction may have lead to the injuries which those two people suffered,” Aidan Buckley with the Independent Investigation Office says.

Buckley says two investigators have been assigned to the case, adding the probe is in the initial stages and he doesn’t know how long it will take.

“We don’t really give timelines to be honest because there are a lot of people who are involved in cases like this,” he says. “You have the affected injured persons, you’ve got police, you’ve got the public as well and we don’t really want to be giving timelines out at this stage because there is still a lot of work to do.”

— This story was corrected at 10:41 a.m., Sunday, May 29, 2016 to clarify the police actions under investigation by the Independent Investigation Office of B.C.

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