Machete-wielding man stole truck that crashed into N.S. store, injuring worker: witness

Dashcam footage shows car driving wrong way Two people are in hospital after a man allegedly drove the wrong way on highway, stole a truck, then crashed it. Natasha Pace reports.

What started as a bizarre dangerous-driving incident on a Nova Scotia highway ended with a truck crashing into a convenience store, leaving two people injured.

Police say the trouble started near Windsor, N.S., Thursday afternoon when a black Jaguar was reported driving on the wrong side of Highway 101.

Dash-cam footage from one witness shows cars swerving to avoid the Jaguar, but it eventually caused a collision near the old landfill in Upper Sackville, N.S.

“As a result of that there were other vehicles that were struck or put off the road by this vehicle that was putting other motorists at risk,” said RCMP Cpl. Dal Hutchinson.

Jason McLellan of Bramber, Hants County, was heading home after work when he came upon the aftermath of the collision.

He said he slowed down to proceed through the scene and noticed a badly-damaged Jaguar in the median. No emergency vehicles had arrived yet.

“At the same time a guy ran from beside the car and ran toward my lane,” McLellan said. “He had some debris in his hand and threw it into oncoming traffic. He tossed it into the oncoming lane of traffic and ran out in front, putting his arm out like you would if you were crossing the road. I saw that he was holding a machete and he walked toward two trucks parked on the side of the road.”

McLellan said the machete-wielding man approached one truck and he swiped at it as it drove off. A man in the second truck then opened his door and was allegedly approached by the machete-wielding man.

“The guy ordered him out of the truck, jumped into it, spun a doughnut, then sped off against the traffic,” McLellan said. “He just missed the back of my truck. I was kind of dumbfounded. I thought, ‘What the hell is going on here?’”

But the destruction didn’t stop there.

Police say the truck then took Exit 2 into Lower Sackville, N.S., and crashed into the front of a Circle K convenience store at the corner of Sackville Drive and Beaver Bank Road.

Dayna Quinlivan-Hall was at the Irving gas station attached to the store with her young family at the time. She says her husband was about to pump gas when they heard sirens, followed by a crash.

“We're worried for whoever was inside,” said Quinlivan-Hall. “All I could see was debris flying, so windshield fluid and all that, a really, really loud bang. We didn’t know what was going on.”

Police say two people were injured in the crash, although the extent of their injuries was unknown Thursday evening.

Police blocked off portions of busy streets and highways Thursday evening as they investigated the incidents.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Amanda Debison and Ryan Van Horne