Drunk driver who went in ditch jailed

A Cornwall man whose truck came within a few feet of a culvert after he went off the road while driving drunk was sentenced recently to 22 days in jail.

Kyle David Robertson, 33, appeared before Chief Judge Nancy Orr in provincial court in Charlottetown where he pleaded guilty to drunk driving.

Crown attorney Nathan Beck told the court that on Oct. 13 the RCMP were dispatched to Millview for a single-vehicle rollover.

The court heard an off-duty paramedic stopped after seeing a truck in a ditch and Robertson outside holding a bloody nose.

Beck said Robertson tried to back out of the ditch, but the truck wouldn’t move.

An off-duty police officer stopped at the scene soon after and later said the truck came to a stop about two feet from a culvert. The court heard Robertson told the off-duty officer he needed to get his truck out before the police arrived or else he would be in trouble.

Beck said the officer then identified himself.

When the RCMP arrived, Robertson told them he had a beer to drink and had taken anti-anxiety medication Ativan, which he doesn’t normally take.

Robertson told the RCMP he fell asleep while driving.

He later provided breathalyzer samples that were more than 1.5 times the legal limit.

Beck told the court Robertson had a prior drunk-driving conviction from Alberta in 2010.

Along with the jail time, which Robertson will serve on weekends, he must pay a $1,500 fine and a $450 victim surcharge. He is banned from driving for one year.