Fifteen impaired drivers were taken off the roads and one dog was euthanized after it was critically injured in a crash on Thanksgiving weekend.
“This past weekend was not something to be proud of when it comes to responsible driving decisions” said the RCMP news release.
KINGS COUNTY
On Friday, Oct. 11, the very first driver through a MADD Canada check stop in Brudenell lost his vehicle for 30 days.
At 1 p.m. RCMP and P.E.I. Highway Safety stopped the 49-year-old Winsloe man. He showed signs of impairment, failed a roadside screening test and provided breath samples almost three times the legal limit. His vehicle was impounded.
Later in the day, RCMP and P.E.I. Highway Safety set up their check stop in Peakes and handed a suspended driver a 30-day driving suspension for alcohol consumption. The man’s vehicle was impounded for 60 days and he received tickets for other offences under the Highway Traffic Act.
Saturday at 3:20 a.m., RCMP officers found a man unconscious in his vehicle in the middle of the road on Route 24 in Bellevue. The 29-year-old Stratford man was arrested for impaired driving and his vehicle was impounded for 30 days.
Coincidentally, while dealing with this man, a second vehicle came upon the scene driven by a 29-year-old woman from Charlottetown. She showed signs of alcohol consumption and failed a roadside screening test. The woman was arrested for impaired driving and the vehicle she was driving was subject to a 30-day impound.
Later on Saturday, at 5:20 p.m., RCMP officers and P.E.I. Conservation were conducting a check stop in Murray River when they stopped a 20-year-old man from Victoria Cross. He displayed signs of alcohol consumption so was detained. He failed a roadside screening test and was arrested for impaired driving. His vehicle was subject to a 30-day impound.
Sunday, at 6:20 a.m., an off-duty Charlottetown Police Officer alerted Kings District RCMP to a vehicle in the ditch on Route 3 in Millview. Once they arrived, RCMP officers believed the driver, a 33-year-old man of no fixed address, was impaired. He was arrested for impaired-related offences and his vehicle was impounded.
At 6:25 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 13, RCMP officers were alerted to a vehicle being driven erratically on Route 2 eastbound through Morell. While the officers were on their way, the vehicle left the road and crashed into a power pole on Route 2 in Marie.
Members of the Morell Volunteer Fire Department arrived on scene and tended to the only occupant, a 25-year-old man from the St. Peters Bay area. Island EMS arrived on scene and transported the man to the QEH for precautionary assessment. He was released from hospital and arrested for impaired driving. He provided breath samples that were two and a half times the legal limit.
QUEENS COUNTY
Friday, Oct. 11, shortly after midnight, RCMP received a report of a single vehicle collision in Hampshire.
The witness reported that a man drove through a stop sign, drove off the road and came to rest in a corn field. RCMP arrived and arrested the man for impaired driving.
He had significant injuries to his face which required a visit to the QEH.
A dog that was accompanying the driver was seriously injured and had to be euthanized.
At 3:30 p.m. on Friday, RCMP had a report of a possible impaired driver in the Cornwall area.
The witness reported that a woman from Nova Scotia struck a curb and punctured a tire on Route 1 in Cornwall.
She did not stop and continued to drive with a flat tire. The witness saw her narrowly miss two children and a cyclist. RCMP located the vehicle and arrested the 50-year-old woman with impaired driving. There was a 3-year-old child in the vehicle at the time.
PRINCE COUNTY
Seven drivers were charged with impaired driving Thanksgiving weekend in Prince County.
Three drivers were charged on Friday, in the communities of Huntly, Carleton and Norboro.
On Saturday, two drivers were charged in O'Leary and Wellington Centre.
On Sunday, two drivers were charged in Linkletter and Wellington.
Five of the seven drivers provided breath samples over the limit, one refused to provide a sample and blood was taken from the last driver which will be analyzed.
The RCMP urges people to arrange a safe ride home should they decide to partake in consuming alcohol and or drugs and reminds drivers that the RCMP are committed to keeping impaired drivers off the roads.
