Dominic Fiorenza was on his way back to Ottawa from his 8-year-old son’s hockey tournament in Peterborough Sunday night when he found himself in the middle of a dramatic cop chase along Hwy. 7.

Lanark OPP were in pursuit of a Volvo transport truck — a cab without a trailer — which had been reported stolen in Ottawa. After the truck fled from officers in Perth around 7 p.m., OPP used a spike belt to stop it.

They eventually managed to get the truck stopped, outside of town on County Road 511 in Lanark Highlands Twp.

Fiorenza spoke with a number of officers who told him he narrowly avoided being involved in a serious crash.

“I was in the middle of that truck chase,” he said Monday. “I hit the spike belt put out on Hwy. 7 by the OPP — right after the transport truck hit it, and then turned off Hwy. 7.”

None of Fiorenza’s tires were damaged by the spike belt, which may have already been flipped over by the time he hit it.

The truck actually passed him, just missing Fiorenza’s van by a few feet. It forced him off the road onto the shoulder.

“If we were 10 feet ahead on the road, he may have killed me and my family as he sped around us, as he would have clipped or hit my van as he came back into my lane in front of me,” he said. “We were a family minding our own business and we could have been killed. Crazy. It was scary.”

He was not only travelling with his 8-year-old son, but his 7-year-old daughter and wife as well. In fact, he said there were many families affected who were all travelling together back to the city.

Richard Hill, 46, of Quebec is charged with dangerous driving, flight while pursued by police, impaired driving, failing to provide a breath sample, assault police with a weapon, obstruct police, theft over $5,000, possession of stolen property, and driving while disqualified.

Hill was held in custody for a bail hearing and an investigation is ongoing in regards to the stolen truck.

Anyone with information is asked to call the OPP.

doug.hempstead@sunmedia.ca

Twitter: @DougHempstead