Sudbury police charge man with driving boat, truck while impaired

Witnesses told CTV News that the truck driver appeared to be impaired and swerving on the road before the boat detached onto John Street. (Madison Marier/CTV News)

Police in Greater Sudbury say a 37-year-old man who was driving a boat while impaired got off the water and into his truck, not properly attaching the boat in the process.

The boat ended up detaching from the pickup and was left behind on a city street.

Witnesses told CTV News that the truck driver appeared to be impaired and swerving on the road before the boat detached.

In a news release, police said they received a report of an impaired driver on Ramsey Lake around 7:45 p.m. on July 6.

“While en route to the boat launch, officers received additional information that the individual had left the area in a pickup truck towing a trailer,” police said July 7.

“The boat, which had originally been loaded onto the trailer, was not properly secured and had fallen off, landing in the middle of the roadway near the intersection of John Street and Paris Street.”

“Everybody was stunned,” said Dieter Rothensee, who saw the boat abandoned on the roadway.

“Everybody said, ‘Where’s the vehicle? What’s going on here? Like, how come there’s a boat here?’ Like, that’s weird just to see.”

Police found the truck on Lonsdale Avenue in Minnow Lake and conducted a traffic stop.

“During their interaction with the driver, officers noticed signs of impairment,” police said.

“The individual was arrested for impaired operation and transported to police headquarters for further testing.”

A police technician conducted breath tests, “which revealed the individual had blood alcohol concentrations well above the legal limit,” police said.

He has been charged with impaired driving, dangerous driving and towing an insecure load.

He has been released on an appearance notice with a court date of Aug. 19. His driver’s licence was automatically suspended for 90 days and the truck was impounded for seven days.