‘Time to call 911’: N.S. man helps track suspected impaired driver leading to arrest

A Nova Scotia man called 911 after watching an erratic driver in Lower Sackville.

The actions of a Nova Scotia man may have helped prevent a serious crash.

Brian McGregor was driving through Lower Sackville, N.S., on May 29, when he spotted someone driving dangerously.

“Then it got a little more erratic where it was like, ‘OK. There’s something wrong here.’ Very unusual and swerving, getting a little close to oncoming traffic, and then suddenly moving back, so I thought, ‘OK, this is time to call 911,’” said McGregor.

He stayed a safe distance from the vehicle and continued to follow the driver while keeping police updated.

“My immediate thought is there are other people on the road. There could be pedestrians, there could be children playing. We need to get him off the road,” he said.

This went on for more than 20 minutes. McGregor followed the driver through neighbourhoods and back onto Sackville Drive. At times, he says the driver was on the wrong side of the road, driving on sidewalks and lawns, and hitting curbs.

“I was concerned. I was really worried. Even though there’s points where he’s not travelling very quickly, he’s still operating a piece of machinery that weighs 3,000 pounds, and he doesn’t have to go very fast to run a child over,” said McGregor.

‘I commend that person’

Eventually, the driver was located by police and arrested for impaired driving. No one was injured.

The 24-year-old man who was arrested has not yet been charged, but police said charges are pending.

According to RCMP, McGregor did the right thing.

“I thought the caller did an excellent job. Not only were they providing helpful information, they were calm, they were concerned for the public, they kept a safe distance, they alerted other drivers who were in that area, so I commend that person,” said Nova Scotia RCMP Cpl. Mandy Edwards.

McGregor was able to capture the whole ordeal on his dashcam and share it with police.

“There’s nothing better than video evidence,” said Edwards.

Police said if someone spots an impaired driver, they should call 911.

“Our officers can’t be everywhere at all times, so we are relying on the public that when they see that there’s danger on our roadways, that they report it to us and give us as much information, so we can attend,” she said.

McGregor is glad he made that call.

“I happen to be a defensive driving instructor, and this is my 20th year teaching collision avoidance and avoiding this exact thing and dealing with this exact thing, so it just seemed like the shoe fit,” he said.

“I’ve been training, teaching kids how to avoid situations like this for years. So, it was a no-brainer for me.”

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