York police holiday blitz nets 22 DUIs

Among those charged are Uber driver and man who drove into house

York Region police say an Uber driver and a motorist who drove his car into a home are among 22 drivers charged with impaired operation from Christmas Eve to New Year’s Day.

On the afternoon of Dec. 24, police said a homeowner reported a car had pulled into his driveway and crashed into the corner of his house. The driver was sleeping in the vehicle while it was still running, police said. He was arrested, and later provided a breath sample reading of more than five times the legal limit, police allege. Artem Kulikov, 29, of Vaughan, was charged with impaired driving.

Shortly after midnight on Dec. 31, police said they responded to Main St. in Whitchurch-Stouffville after a report of a possibly impaired driver. According to police, an Uber driver pulled into a parking lot on Hoover Park Dr. to pick someone up when he was arrested.

Kayla Whaling, a spokesperson for Uber, said the driver was not driving on the Uber system at the time, contrary to the police report.

“The driver-partner was not driving on the Uber app the time of the arrest and was unrelated to the Uber app,” Whaling said. “As soon as we learned of this report, we immediately removed this driver’s access to the app.” York Region police said Wednesday they got the information that he was on duty for Uber from the driver. Dennis Romanin, 55, of Whitchurch-Stouffville was charged with impaired operation.

According to York Region police, approximately 1,650 charges were laid this year for impaired-related driving offences in all of 2018. In the news release, police also mentioned that seven people died last year in collisions involving alcohol or drug impairment.

In December, York Region police announced that they will publicly name and shame people they have charged with impaired driving-related offences.