Stolen Vehicle Takes Wild Ride Across Lumsden Railway Bridge
September 9, 2026
Lumsden Saskatchewan
A stolen vehicle pursuit that started in Regina came to a dramatic end near Lumsden after a grey Kia displaying British Columbia licence plates sped through town, drove onto the railway tracks and crossed the wooden railway bridge over the Qu’Appelle River before eventually crashing down an embankment.
It all started shortly after midnight on Wednesday, September 2. Regina police spotted a vehicle that’d previously been reported stolen driving dangerously near Victoria Avenue and Athol Street. Rather than having officers chase the vehicle through the streets, Regina Police’s Aerial Support Unit began following it from above.
And the speeds weren’t exactly minor.
Police say the vehicle reached speeds of up to 180 kilometres per hour. With the driver travelling that fast, officers on the ground didn’t pursue the vehicle. Instead, the police aircraft kept track of where it was going.
Eventually, the driver made their way out of Regina and onto various grid roads before heading toward Lumsden.
That’s when what had already been a dangerous night became a very local story.
Once the vehicle reached Lumsden, police say the driver continued driving dangerously and nearly collided head-on with several motorists. Then, rather than staying on the road, the driver turned the Kia onto the railway tracks.
And apparently, getting onto the tracks wasn’t the end of it.
The vehicle continued along the railway and actually made it across the wooden railway bridge over the Qu’Appelle River.
That’s a detail that wasn’t included in the original police account, which simply reported that the vehicle had turned onto the railway tracks and continued down them. However, local video obtained by the River Valley Podcast shows the vehicle on the opposite side of the river, meaning it had crossed the wooden railway bridge to get there.
A photograph taken after the incident also clearly shows the grey Kia displaying British Columbia licence plates.
The vehicle’s trip along the railway didn’t last much longer.
Police say the driver eventually lost control and the Kia went down a steep embankment, ending up among the trees and brush below. Both people inside the vehicle got out and took off on foot.
RCMP and Regina police searched the area with help from the police aircraft and a canine team.
One of the suspects was eventually found hiding in some bushes. Police say he wouldn’t follow officers’ commands and assaulted the police service dog during the arrest. The dog bit the man during the confrontation before officers were able to take him into custody.
The second suspect, who police identified as the driver, was later found inside a building in the area and arrested. He was taken to hospital with what police described as apparently minor injuries from the crash.
Police identified the two accused as 42-year-old Christopher Novak and 32-year-old Terrance Desnomie.
Novak’s facing charges that include possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000, dangerous operation of a conveyance, two counts of operating a conveyance while prohibited, and break and enter with intent. He was also arrested on outstanding warrants.
Desnomie’s charged with possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000 and resisting arrest. Both men appeared in Regina Provincial Court on September 2.
Police haven’t publicly said where the vehicle was originally stolen. Although photographs clearly show British Columbia plates on the Kia, that doesn’t necessarily mean the vehicle itself was stolen in B.C.
What started as a stolen vehicle investigation in Regina ended up becoming one of the stranger incidents Lumsden has seen in a while: a high-speed trip out of the city, dangerous driving through town, a turn onto the railway tracks and then a drive across a wooden train bridge over the Qu’Appelle River.
And for anyone around Lumsden who knows that bridge, that last part is probably the detail that really stands out.
Somehow, a grey Kia got onto those tracks, drove onto the wooden railway bridge, made it all the way across the river and kept going before finally leaving the tracks and ending up down an embankment among the trees.
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