B.C. man charged with multiple offences in incident that shut down Kelowna bridge in January

KELOWNA — A 61-year-old man from Kelowna has been charged with multiple offences in connection with a police incident that closed the William R. Bennett Bridge for most of the day in late January 2025.

According to a statement from police, Roy Winter has been charged with arson, making or possessing explosive devices, use of explosives to cause serious bodily harm, possession of incidendiary material, mischief endangering life, mischief, nuisance endangering life, assaulting a peace officer with a weapon, resisting/obstructing a peace officer, uttering threats and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.

Winter was taken into police custody on March 25, 2025 after being released from hospital, and appeared in court later that evening. Winter remains in custody and is scheduled to appear next on April 3, 2025.

“This is a well coordinated and sizeable investigation, spearheaded by the Kelowna RCMP’s General Investigative Support Team,” says Cpl. Michael Gauthier Media Relations Officer. “It is imperative that we protect the ongoing judicial process, with that no further details will be released at this time.”

Police reopened bridge across Okanagan Lake in the B.C. Interior after an explosives scare that shut it down for about 11 hours.

Officers say the incident began early Monday morning when a man parked a white panel van across multiple lanes of the William R. Bennett Bridge and posted online remarks about the contents.

Kelowna RCMP Insp. Chris Gable told a briefing that officers responded to the scene at 3:45 a.m. and encountered a “distraught” man in the van blocking the eastbound lanes of the bridge that connects Kelowna with West Kelowna.

Gable said the man made “threatening comments” about his own well-being before setting a fire in the vehicle which firefighters were able to quickly extinguish.

He said police convinced the man to get out and he was taken to hospital, but the “known contents of the van” described online and in phone calls posed a “significant risk,” and the vehicle couldn’t be removed until it was inspected by explosives officers.

A statement from police said the van was rendered safe for transport and the bridge was reopened.

Around the start of the incident, a man posted on social media claiming that he had “60 pounds of highly volatile material” inside the vehicle that could be easily triggered, and the bridge would be shut until his concerns were resolved.