Police find vehicle in ditch on Hwy. 17 with horn blaring

Ontario Provincial Police responded around 11:45 p.m. March 25, along with Algoma Paramedic Services and Huron Shores Fire Department. (File)

A 55-year-old man from Edmonton has been charged with impaired driving after police responded to reports of a vehicle in a ditch on Highway 17 in the Iron Bridge area.

Ontario Provincial Police responded around 11:45 p.m. March 25, along with Algoma Paramedic Services and Huron Shores Fire Department.

Emergency responders searched the area for the vehicle and driver “based on the limited and conflicting information provided,” the OPP said in a news release March 26.

“At approximately 12:40 a.m., police received a call from a local resident on Chevis Road reporting a vehicle in the eastbound ditch across the Mississagi River on Highway 17, with a horn blaring.”

Airbags had been deployed

Police arrived at 1 a.m. to the crash site just east of Iron Bridge and found a red SUV with airbags that had deployed and with moderate front-end damage.

“While assisting the driver, officers observed a liquor bottle on the floor of the vehicle and detected a strong odour of alcohol,” the OPP said.

“The lone occupant was found in the passenger seat and displayed signs consistent with alcohol impairment.”

The driver was taken to and later released from the hospital in Blind River. Back at OPP headquarters, he refused to supply a breath sample.

The 55-year-old from Edmonton was charged with impaired driving and failing to comply with a demand to supply a breath sample.

The accused is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Elliot Lake on May 7.

His driver’s licence was automatically suspended for 90 days and the vehicle was impounded for seven days.