Drunk-driving dad gets conditional sentence

Driving drunk with three kids in his minivan, including two belonging to a friend, has landed a Calgary man a one-year conditional sentence.

And among the requirements Geoffrey Scott Munroe must complete as part of his sentence is to write an essay on the dangers of impaired driving, and speak to high school students about it.

That was part of the order made Wednesday by provincial court Judge John Bascom, who accepted a joint submission from Crown and defence lawyers for a conditional sentence for Munroe.

“He will provide an essay on the dangers of drinking and driving, and impaired driving,” Bascom said.

“He’ll also arrange speaking dates to public and Catholic schools,” the judge said, making the latter condition something arranged at the discretion of his community sentence supervisor.

Defence lawyer Ben Leung entered a plea on Munroe’s behalf to a single charge of impaired driving in connection with an incident on Aug. 16, 2016.

Reading from a statement of agreed facts, Crown prosecutor Ron Simenik detailed Munroe’s offence.

Simenik told Bascom that Munroe was driving his white minivan southbound on Hwy. 2, north of Airdrie when police were called.

“Police received driving complaints indicating this vehicle was being driven all over the road and that there were a ‘bunch of kids’ in the vehicle,” Simenik said.

Munroe provided a breath sample on a roadside screening device, but his blood-alcohol content was too high to be recorded, the prosecutor said.

Breathalyzer tests later showed the lowest of two readings was 260 mg of alcohol per 100 mL of blood, more than triple the legal driving limit.

Leung said Munroe, who had no prior criminal record, had a potential defence, but decided to accept responsibility anyway.

“He is here today to take responsibility for what is an egregious mistake,” Leung said.

“Mr. Munroe has used this as a wake-up call.”