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Penticton man brings down hit-and-run suspect

"I stopped the guy... wasn't the smartest decision in my entire life. He was a big boy, bigger than me."
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The scene of a hit-and-run incident Friday, Sept. 22 in Penticton.

Joel Patan was driving home Friday afternoon when he looked in his rearview mirror and saw a man running from the scene of a car crash.

The incident happened on Duncan Avenue East and Balfour Street in Penticton.

According to Patan, the suspect, who was driving a spray-painted black Chevy, blew through a stop sign on Balfour Street heading north onto Duncan Avenue, hitting a Jeep with three people inside.

The crash happened just before 6 p.m.

"The Jeep actually rolled and landed on our neighbour's fence. I just got home and heard the bang. The driver was running to get away. I ran up to him and said, 'Hey, you can't run from the scene; you are staying here.'"

Patan says the suspect, a male, then ran through his neighbour's yard.

"He was trying to go through his back alley. I met him in the alley, and he tried to run through me, and I took him to the ground and held him there until someone came to help and RCMP arrived. A probation officer was there that knew him."

"I stopped the guy... wasn't the smartest decision in my entire life. He was a big boy, bigger than me," Patan added.

All three individuals inside the Jeep escaped the crash uninjured.

The suspect reportedly had minor injuries.

"It was quite a Friday afternoon," Patan added.

Penticton RCMP have yet to comment on the incident.

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