Ontario Provincial Police charged two individuals in northwestern Ontario with impaired driving on the same day. On Sept. 6, around 7 p.m., OPP responded to a report of a suspected impaired driver in the Town of Schreiber. Police said officers patrolled the area and a short time later located the suspect vehicle on Kingsway Road. “The motor vehicle was observed in the backyard hung up on a rock with the lights on,” said OPP in a news release Wednesday. “There was visible damage to the suspect vehicle as well as another parked vehicle in the yard.” According to police, when officers arrived on the scene, the man attempted to climb out of a window, but was subsequently arrested and taken to the Nipigon detachment for breath testing. As a result of the investigation, the driver, a 37-year-old local man, has been charged with operation while prohibited and two impaired driving offences – including operation with a blood alcohol concentration exceeding 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. Second incident At about 11:30 p.m. the same evening, OPP charged another individual with impaired operation. According to police, earlier in the day, officers attended an establishment in Nipigon and arrested a woman for public intoxication. She was transported back to the local detachment to be released the next morning when sober. “The male partner, who was also intoxicated, was advised to not drive and get a motel room for the night,” OPP said. Police said the man attended the detachment that night, driving a motor vehicle with a trailer in tow to pick up his spouse. “He appeared to still be under the influence of alcohol and officers conducted a mandatory alcohol screening breath test, to which the male failed,” OPP said. He was taken into custody and into the station for further testing. As a result, the man, a 31-year-old from Carstairs, Alta., was charged with two impaired driving offences – including having a BAC above 80. Penalties, court In addition to the charges, under provincial law, both drivers received a 90-day driver’s licence suspension and the vehicles involved were impounded for seven days. Both men were subsequently released and are scheduled to appear in northwestern Ontario courtrooms at a later date. Police commitment, public appeal Provincial police also used the incident to remind the public of the force’s commitment to take alcohol and drug-impaired drivers off Ontario roads through enforcement and public education and to appeal for assistance. “If you suspect someone is driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs, it is important to call 911 to report it,” said OPP.
