Two intoxicated drivers avoid convictions
Two people who drove with bloodalcohol levels far above the legal limit have avoided criminal convictions.
A man arrested in Cambridge had 290 milligrams of alcohol in 80 millilitres of blood — 3.5 times the legal limit. He pleaded guilty in Kitchener court this week to dangerous driving and was handed a conditional discharge.
A woman who drove into a hydro pole in Waterloo had more than 2.5 times the legal limit of alcohol in her blood.
She pleaded guilty last week to the non-criminal charge of careless driving.
At the man’s sentencing, Crown prosecutor Jeffrey Wyngaarden said, “I think it’s fair to say that this is an unusual disposition.”
The Crown considered many factors in recommending a conditional discharge with no criminal conviction. One was immigration consequences.
The Mississauga man, 39, is from India and in Canada on a work visa. He is a forklift operator and lives with his wife and two children. If convicted, court was told, he may have been deported.
The case dates back 19 months. Had the man not pleaded guilty, charges could have been tossed due to the delay in resolving the case.
The Crown also noted that in a show of remorse, the man donated $2,500 to Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
The driver was arrested on Aug. 10, 2022, just before midnight. A police officer in an unmarked vehicle was driving behind his car on King Street East in Cambridge. The man was changing speeds and not staying in his lane.
The officer pulled him over. The driver had glassy eyes and slurred speech. “He had trouble removing his driver’s licence from his wallet and needed some help with balance and walking when asked to exit the vehicle,” Wyngaarden said.
The man’s mother was in the passenger seat. He said he was driving her to the hospital, although that claim was not confirmed in court.
His first breath test revealed 290 mg of alcohol. The second test showed 280. The legal limit is 80.
“I want to be clear that the Crown recognizes the aggravating factors in this case are quite significant,” Wyngaarden said, adding that the man put his mother and the public at risk.
“The breath readings are off the charts.”
Justice Matthew Stanley agreed. “It’s alarming that he’s functioning to any degree with that level,” he said.
The man has abstained from alcohol since then, said defence lawyer Lawrence Ben-Eliezer.
The judge handed him a 15-month driving ban and put him on probation for one year. He must take counselling for alcohol abuse.
Stanley said the sentence was at the low end but would not bring the administration of justice into disrepute. Other charges were withdrawn at the request of the Crown.
Careless driving, not impaired
An intoxicated driver behind the wheel of a car that hit a hydro pole avoided a criminal record.
The crash happened at 1 a.m. on Jan. 4, 2022, on Westmount Road South at John Street West in Waterloo.
“After the collision, her vehicle swerved and remained on Westmount Road South blocking both lanes of traffic,” Crown prosecutor Erin Jamieson said in court last week.
“EMS crews just happened to be driving by and were able to engage and also called for assistance from police and fire.”
The driver, a 49-year-old Waterloo woman who works at an insurance company, was taken to hospital.
Breath tests revealed she had more than 2.5 times the legal blood-alcohol limit, but the Crown accepted a plea to the non-criminal charge of careless driving.
The prosecutor alluded to delay issues.
“You might notice the date of this matter,” Jamieson told Justice Frances Brennan. “This matter was in fact previously up for trial and the Crown had to bring an adjournment application of that trial due to circumstances.
“That does cause us to have to make an assessment of things and in light of some ongoing circumstances there we did suggest that (her) plea is particularly mitigating.”
Jamieson noted that the driver — through “good luck and not good planning” — was the only person injured.
The woman was fined $2,000, the maximum, and handed a sixmonth driving ban.
The sentence serves as a deterrent, Jamieson said.
Had the woman pleaded guilty to impaired driving, she likely would have been fined, convicted and banned from driving for one year.
She got credit for pleading guilty and taking counselling for alcohol and substance use.
Considering all of the factors, the judge said the sentence was appropriate.
“Please make sure that you never again put yourself behind the wheel of a vehicle in a similar state,” Brennan told the woman. “Good luck to you, ma’am.”
Man with 3.5 times the legal limit of alcohol in his blood may have been deported if convicted