A 56-year-old woman faces multiple charges after a two-vehicle incident in Portage la Prairie yesterday, in which police say a truck appeared to target a van.

The RCMP says officers responded to a multiple vehicle collision shortly after 4 p.m. Wednesday at 3rd Street NE and Alfred Ave., where a fire hydrant was damaged and Pontiac Montana van disabled. Another vehicle, a Ford F-150, was located a short distance away. Mounties spoke to several witnesses and the driver of a Ford F-150, and learned the truck had struck the other vehicle, which then hit the hydrant.

“It appears the Ford F150 was the aggressor in this incident and targeted the vehicle and targeted the Pontiac Montana van, struck it several times, forcing it over top of the fire hydrant,” says RCMP Const. Sean O'Keefe.

The female driver of the F-150, Ruby Pearl Whitford, 56, was arrested at the scene. The occupants of the vehicle she allegedly struck fled the area before police could arrive. Whitford remained in police custody until such time as she could be brought before the court, and is presently charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, two counts of mischief to property under $5000, and causing a disturbance.

The matter is still under investigation.