Impaired drivers keep northern OPP detachment busy during May’s first weekend

Efforts to reduce impaired driving in the northeast seem to be working in some communities – provincial police say stats are still high.

Ontario Provincial Police’s Nipissing West detachment was kept busy the first weekend of May – responding to collisions involving drugs, alcohol, and allegedly impaired motorists refusing to comply with testing.

Saturday morning

On Saturday, May 3, at approximately 8:35 a.m., officers responded to a single-vehicle collision into a rock cut on Highway 17 in Greater Sudbury. The driver, a 23-year-old man from Massey, was treated for minor injuries and arrested for drug-impaired driving. Police seized a small amount of suspected cannabis from the vehicle. The man faces charges of impaired driving and driving as a novice with cannabis readily available. He was released and is scheduled to appear in court in Sudbury on June 4.

Later that evening

Later that day, at 5:55 p.m., OPP arrested a 25-year-old West Nipissing resident following a traffic complaint about a possible impaired driver on Front Street. The driver resisted arrest and allegedly assaulted an officer, who was not injured. The motorist was charged with impaired driving, assaulting a peace officer, driving while suspended, and failing to comply with a probation order. The accused was held pending a bail hearing on May 5 in North Bay.

The next day

On Sunday at 11:15 a.m., officers and emergency medical personnel responded to a rollover on Highway 64 in West Nipissing. Two occupants were taken to the local hospital with minor injuries. The driver, a 63-year-old man from Dokis First Nation, was charged with drug-impaired driving. He was released and will appear in North Bay court on June 5.

Early Monday morning

Shortly after 1 a.m. Monday morning, police arrested a 22-year-old man from Henvey Inlet First Nation after a collision on Regent Street in Greater Sudbury. He was charged with refusing to comply with a demand, dangerous operation, and breaching probation. He is scheduled to appear in court in Sudbury on May 28.

The OPP reminded drivers that refusing a lawful breath demand carries the same penalties as impaired driving.

In addition to the charges

In addition to the charges, in accordance with legislation, all four motorists also received a 90-day administrative driver’s licence suspensions, and the vehicles involved were impounded for seven days at the owner’s expense.

‘Make the call’

The OPP urged the public to report suspected impaired drivers.

“If you see a possible impaired driver on our roadways, waterways, or trails, please ‘Make the call,’ and dial 911 as impaired driving never ends well,” OPP said in its news release.

“Plan a way to get home safely.”

“Driving is a privilege, not a right,” added OPP Const. Rob Lewis, in the news release related to the incident on May 4.

“Make the right choice and do not drive while impaired.”