Police have released dashcam footage of a driver passed out at the wheel of a pickup truck at an intersection north of Toronto before he was arrested for allegedly driving while impaired.
The footage, taken around 5 p.m. on Feb. 11, shows a dark RAM truck stopped at an intersection in East Gwillimbury, Ont., as an officer approaches the driver’s side and knocks on the window.
The person behind the wheel, who appears to be wearing a baseball cap, is seen with his head slumped forward and unresponsive. Meanwhile, the indicator on the vehicle’s wing mirror continues to flash for a left turn.
After numerous attempts to wake the driver, the officer finally gets a response and can be seen talking to him.
“When officers arrived they found the vehicle waiting to turn left from Green Lane into a transit station,” York Regional Police said in a press release.
“Officers were able to shut off the vehicle and after numerous attempts were able to wake up the driver who smelled of alcohol.”
The man was arrested and taken for a breath test, where he was found to be two and half times the legal limit, police said.
York police said a troubling trend of impaired driving continues across the region, with 29 motorists arrested for impaired driving this past week.
The force has recently started naming and shaming impaired drivers with a list of all those charged from Feb. 11 available online.
That figure is on top of more than 200 impaired driving-related charges already laid this year.
The force thanked the public for its help in stopping impaired drivers by calling 911.
“We consider these incidents a life-threatening crime in progress and will continue to respond to these calls,” York Regional Police said.
