Beaver Staff
Impaired driving is always a dangerous proposition — drunk driving at high speeds is a deadly situation.
That was the situation apparently faced by OPP officers on Monday at when they responded to a traffic complaint on Highway 401. The officers locked in the suspect’s speed as he drove past them; he was travelling in excess of 50 kilometres per hour above the posted 100km/h speed limit.
Officers conducted a traffic stop. Police said that a check of the owner’s licence revealed the owner was currently suspended. When officers spoke to the man, they suspected he was impaired by alcohol. The male was arrested at scene for impaired operation of a motor vehicle and transported back to the Napanee OPP detachment to provide breath samples.
Officers conducted a search of the vehicle and located what appeared to be an open bottle of wine. The vehicle was towed and impounded for seven days.
At the detachment, the driver, a 23-year-old Ottawa man, refused to provide a suitable sample of his breath.
The driver was charged with refusing to provide a sample of his breath, impaired operation of a motor vehicle, stunt driving, driving while under suspension and having an open container of alcohol in his vehicle
More Than Zero
One young local motorist learned the hard way that novice drivers and alcohol really don’t mix.
On Monday at 10:04 in the morning, officers with the Napanee OPP stopped a young male driving on Highway 33 in Greater Napanee. Officers spoke to the male driver and a breath demand was issued to the driver. He blew a ‘warn’ on an approved screening device.
The driver, an 18-year-old Loyalist man, was charged with being a novice driver with a blood alcohol content above zero. The male’s licence was suspended at scene.
The OPP reminds drivers under the age of 22 years that they are permitted to have zero alcohol in their system when operating a motor vehicle. Any novice driver — G1 or G2 (car and truck), M1 or M2 (motorcycle) — is not permitted to have any alcohol in their system regardless of age.
Impaired Rollover
A Frontenac resident is facing impaired driving charges following an incident Monday morning.
At 9: p.m. that evening, officers with the Napanee OPP responded to a single vehicle rollover on Bath Road in Loyalist Township.
A male driver was taken to hospital by paramedics with minor injuries. Officers at scene suspected the driver was impaired and attended the hospital with the man. Police say breath tests were conducted at the hospital and the driver blew ‘over 80’.
A 35-year-old Frontenac resident was charged with having care and control of a vehicle while impaired by alcohol and having care and control of a motor vehicle with more than the legal limit of alcohol in his system.
The male was released on a promise to appear with a first appearance date at provincial court on July 18. His licence was suspended for 90 days and his vehicle was impounded for seven days.