Driver of jampacked minivan fined for speeding near Merritt; claims he was running out of gas

Image credit: BC Highway Patrol

By Aaron Schulze

Highway Patrol

Aug 22, 2025 | 11:59 AM

MERRITT, B.C. — Police say a driver near Merritt who was fined nearly $500 for speeding claimed he was doing so because he was nearly out of gas.

At around 7:00 p.m. Saturday (Aug. 16), BC Highway Patrol says officers stopped a grey minivan that was clocked at 136 km/h in a 100 km/h zone on Highway 97C near Hamilton Hill Road.

They say the eight-seater van had nine occupants at the time it was pulled over by police.

The driver, a 36-year-old man from Edmonton, was issued $472 in tickets for speeding, allowing a passenger to be without a seatbelt and for not properly restraining a child in the vehicle.