Northern Ontario traffic stop leads to impaired driving charges

Efforts to reduce impaired driving in the northeast seem to be working in some communities – provincial police say stats are still high.

A 43-year-old Hearst man faces multiple charges, including impaired driving, after Ontario Provincial Police stopped a vehicle with an unregistered licence plate early Tuesday morning.

OPP said officers were patrolling south of Hearst around 5:30 a.m. on April 8 when their Automated Licence Plate Recognition (ALPR) system flagged the vehicle. The driver then turned onto a snowmobile trail, OFSC L167, near Dillon Road, prompting police to initiate a stop.

“Officers spoke with the driver and determined they had been consuming an intoxicating substance,” authorities said in a news release Wednesday.

The man was arrested and taken to the Hearst OPP detachment for further testing.

As a result of the incident, the local man has been charged with two counts of impaired driving, operation of a vehicle while prohibited, driving without insurance, using an unauthorized licence plate, failing to obey a lane sign and operating a motor vehicle without a licence on a public trail.

In addition to the charges, the accused also had their licence suspended for 90 days and the vehicle involved was impounded by police for 45 days at the owner’s expense.

The accused was released and is scheduled to appear in court on May 30.