‘You’re going to put other people’s lives in danger:’ Video shows concerned citizen confronting suspected impaired driver

Police released video shows a suspected drunk driver being confronted by a concerned citizen in a parking garage in Richmond Hill. (York Regional Police)

Police are sharing a video of a suspected drunk driver who they say repeatedly collided into a parking garage wall in Richmond Hill before being confronted by a concerned citizen.

The incident took place at around 9:30 p.m. on Sept. 8, in a parking garage located in the area of Major MacKenzie Drive and Pugsley Avenue in Richmond Hill.

York Regional Police Const. James Dickson confirmed to CTV News Toronto via email that a concerned citizen called them after the driver of the vehicle hit a parking garage wall “multiple times.”

In the video, shared on social media on Friday, a white four-door sedan is seen at the far left end of the garage door with what appears to be a beam on top of the vehicle. The tires can be heard screeching against the concrete as the driver attempts to drive.

“Are you sure you’re OK? Did you drink?” a woman behind the camera can be heard asking the driver.

The driver can be heard responding with: “A little bit, yeah.”

The concerned civilian pleads with the driver to not drive and consider his children. He appears to mumble in response, incomprehensibly.

After reminding the driver that he had just collided into the wall, the woman warns him that she will be calling the police.

“You’re going to put other people’s lives in danger,” she says.

The video then cuts to dash cam footage from the police cruiser’s perspective, and soon after the driver can be seen in handcuffs.

“Thanks to this quick call, officers were able to attend and arrest the driver before he managed to get out of the garage,” Const. Dickson said.

Police say the driver, a 56-year-old man from Richmond Hill, was charged with impaired operation and careless driving.

Anyone who faces impaired driving charges could have their vehicle impounded for 14 days, their licence suspended and court-imposed fines.