North Bay man faces impaired, dangerous driving charges after fleeing police

An undated image of a North Bay Police Service vehicle parked outside of the city's police headquaters. (File photo/Supplied/North Bay Police Service)

A 56-year-old North Bay man is facing multiple charges after police say he attempted to evade a traffic stop while impaired early Monday morning.

The North Bay Police Service said that the incident began in the O’Brien Street area, when officers attempted to initiate a traffic stop at about 6 a.m. on Feb. 16.

“The driver failed to stop and attempted to evade police, operating the vehicle in a dangerous manner,” police said in a news release Tuesday.

Officers were able to safely bring the vehicle to a stop in the Albert Avenue area.

“The driver initially provided a false identity; however, their true identity was later confirmed, at which time it was determined their driver’s licence was suspended,” police said.

A search of the vehicle was conducted and officers located and seized quantities of suspected drugs, including 0.3 grams of suspected crystal methamphetamine and 30 suspected Oxycodone pills.

Police said the driver was exhibiting signs of impairment and officers issued a drug recognition evaluation demand. As a result, the accused was taken into custody and transported to headquarters for further testing.

“Following the evaluation, the driver was deemed to be impaired,” police said.

Acting Insp. Vincent Corrente praised the work of the officers involved in the arrest.

“Our patrol members responded quickly and worked in a coordinated manner to safely bring this situation under control,” he said.

“Their actions prevented further risk to the public and demonstrate our ongoing commitment to protecting community safety.”

As a result of the incident and subsequent investigation, the driver has been charged with dangerous operation of a vehicle, flight from a peace officer, obstructing a peace officer, driving while under suspension and impaired driving. He also faces two drug possession charges and was issued a citation for an improper licence plate light.

The accused was held in custody pending a bail hearing.