CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. - A P.E.I. man who ran into the back of a truck stopped at an intersection while he was drunk was recently sentenced to seven days in jail.
Gregory Raymond McCardle, 54, appeared before Chief Judge Nancy Orr in provincial court in Charlottetown for sentencing after previously pleading guilty to impaired driving.
During a previous appearance, the court heard that on Sept. 2, Charlottetown police were dispatched to an accident at an intersection.
Crown attorney Jeff MacDonald said when the police arrived an officer recognized McCardle’s licence plate as belonging to a vehicle that was reported driving erratically about 10 minutes earlier.
The police tried unsuccessfully to get McCardle to give breath samples on the roadside screening device seven times.
He later told police he wasn’t refusing to give a sample but had asthma.
Paramedics assessed McCardle and MacDonald said they didn’t find any reason why he couldn’t give a breath sample.
MacDonald said the police found brown bags from P.E.I. liquor stores, a half-full quart bottle of vodka, an empty vodka pint bottle and two empty beer cans in McCardle’s vehicle.
The court heard the driver of the other vehicle in the collision described McCardle’s behaviour as “spaced out.”
Another witness reported seeing McCardle’s vehicle swerving on the road, including into an oncoming lane.
She told police McCardle’s vehicle was so close to hers at one point that she could have reached her finger out the window and touched it.
A different witness who called the police reported seeing McCardle’s vehicle straddle two lanes and almost hit a guardrail.
During sentencing, defence lawyer Thane MacEachern said McCardle lost his job because he needed a licence for work.
Orr said the concerned motorists who called to report McCardle show the manner in which he was driving wasn’t acceptable.
Along with the jail time, McCardle must pay a $1,500 fine and he is banned from driving for one year.
