NANAIMO, B.C. — RCMP are searching for suspects after someone loosened the lug nuts on wheels of two vehicles in a Nanaimo, B.C., parking lot, prompting a close call for one driver.
A statement issued by police says it happened Wednesday as the vehicles were parked in a lot near a stadium on Nanaimo's west side.
No one was hurt when the rear passenger-side tire of a 2008 Dodge Caliber came off as the teen driver headed home after leaving the parking lot.
Police say the driver felt a strong vibration and was just bringing his car to a stop when he saw the wheel roll into a nearby park.
Const. Gary O'Brien says the teen alerted his friends and may have averted a similar incident because a 17-year-old whose pickup was parked in the same lot received the message and before driving off, he found the lug nuts on a rear tire had also been loosened.
O'Brien says RCMP want to speak to anyone else who was the victim of similar vandalism but has not yet made a police report.
“These were extremely dangerous and malicious acts of vandalism that could have had tragic consequences," O'Brien says in the statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 12, 2021.
The Canadian Press
