BC Highway Patrol is looking for witnesses who may have seen a tractor collision in Surrey on November 25, 2023.
Police are also looking for individuals who may have dashcam footage that includes “pre-collision driving behaviour and post-collision footage.”
Police chased the tractor along Highway 1 and attempted to “pull the tractor over for an extended period while it was part of a convoy that was heading to Vancouver,” reads a BC RCMP Nov. 27 release.
“(The) tractor rolled over after colliding with a police vehicle on the on-ramp to Highway 1 on 176th Street,” BC Highway Patrol Cpl. Melissa Jongema stated in a news release Wednesday (Feb. 14).
Several videos posted on social media after the crash identified the tractor driver as Chilliwack strawberry farmer Bill Shoker.
READ MORE: Chilliwack farmer part of anti-SOGI convoy when tractor crashed on highway
Some were posted by Shoker himself and included videos of driving down Highway 1 and explaining his reasons for joining the protest, which was against a teaching resource called SOGI 123. A large black and white flag that said ‘stop SOGI 123’ was attached to the back of his John Deere tractor, and a Canada flag was attached to the side.
Jongema would not confirm that Shoker was the driver and stated that details about the driver “cannot be released at this time.”
BC Highway Patrol is currently investigating the “actions of the driver of the tractor,” Jongema added.
READ MORE: Police cleared in Surrey collision that flipped Chilliwack farmer’s tractor
The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) found police did not commit an offence in the Nov. 25 crash.
A press release issued by the IIO on Friday (Feb. 9) stated that “there are no reasonable grounds to believe any officer may have committed an offence.”
The IIO will not release the public report of its findings until court proceedings connected to the incident are finished.
Police ask anyone with information or dash cam footage, “including pre-collision driving behaviour and post-collision footage” about the crash to contact the BCHP at E_BCHP_Media@rcmp-grc.gc.ca or call the BC Highway Patrol media team at 778-290-5761.
-With files from Jessica Peters