16 Impaired Drivers Arrested By York Regional Police This Weekend

In a continuation of a disturbing trend, which shows no signs of slowing down, York Regional Police arrested 16 drivers for impaired driving in less than 72 hours.

This past weekend, another 16 drivers were arrested between Friday, June 3, 2016, through to Sunday June 5, 2016, and charged with alcohol and drug-related criminal driving offences. Of the 16 arrests, one was a result of a motor vehicle collision. Officers conducting R.I.D.E. spot checks and general patrol located eight impaired drivers and seven of the arrests were as a result of concerned citizens calling 9-1-1 to report possible impaired drivers.

In one of the incidents, a concerned citizen called 9-1-1 after watching a man stumbling around the parking lot a gas station in the area of Major Mackenzie Drive West and Finland Drive in the City of Vaughan. The citizen watched as the man got into his car and attempted to drive around the parking lot. When officers arrived they located the vehicle, still in the parking lot, with the suspect asleep behind the wheel. Officers woke him up and while speaking with him could smell a strong odor of alcohol. The suspect was arrested and taken to #4 District Headquarters where he blew more than three times the legal limit of alcohol. Ashwani SHARDA, 33, from the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, was charged with Impaired Driving and Over 80.

Investigators with the Major Collision Investigation Unit have also determined that alcohol was a contributing factor in a single-vehicle fatal collision that occurred on Sunday, May 29, 2016, in East Gwillimbury. In that collision, which occurred shortly before 11 p.m. the vehicle was located by police off the roadway and the lone occupant inside the vehicle, a 25-year-old female from the Town of Newmarket, succumbed to her injuries at the scene.

Impaired driving is the number one criminal cause of death in Canada. When you drink or use drugs and drive you not only risk your life and those of your passengers, but the lives of every other driver and pedestrian on the road.

We continue to urge citizens to report impaired drivers by calling 9-1-1 as part of our Safe Roads… Your Call program. We consider these calls a potentially life-threatening crime in progress and we respond to these calls promptly. The message is clear: DO NOT DRINK ALCOHOL OR USE DRUGS AND DRIVE.

Over 150,000 Monthly Readers! 1 Million+ Across the entire FreePress Network.