Man awaiting birth of child charged with drunk driving

A joyous event took a terrible turn.

On the night of Dec. 4, a man was in the birthing unit at Cambridge Memorial Hospital. His wife was about to deliver their baby.

At some point the man got in his car — and was charged with drunk driving.

“A family member brought something to drink at the hospital to celebrate the birth,” said defence lawyer Tahir Cheema. “He partook. It was a huge mistake on his part. He really regrets it.”

In the birthing unit, a woman saw the man, 43, stumbling, Kitchener court was told this week. He was unable to walk a straight line. He was frequently using the bathroom and behaving erratically.

The woman smelled alcohol on his breath. She asked him if he planned to drive. He said yes. She notified security and called police.

Just before midnight, a security guard saw him enter his car and drive toward the hospital parking lot exit, said Crown prosecutor Lindsay Lubberdink. Court was not told where he was going.

Police arrived. The Cambridge man was arrested and taken to the police station. Breath tests revealed he had 116 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit is 80.

Court was not told when the baby was born.

“I think it’s probably abundantly clear to you these facts do not reflect very positively on yourself …” said Justice Karey Katzsch, calling it “a truly unfortunate scenario.”

The judge said he was “likely of little to no assistance to your family on the day in question as a result of your choices.”

The man was charged with impaired driving and over-80 but pleaded guilty only to the noncriminal charge of careless driving.

Katzsch fined him $1,000 and put him on probation for one year.

The man must install an ignition interlock device in his vehicle and have a zero blood-alcohol level when driving. The judge also ordered him to complete a remedial driving program.