Thunder Bay police charge 10 with impaired driving over course of 10 days

Recent charges show impaired driving remains a significant public safety issue in Thunder Bay, Ont., police said.

From Aug. 10 to 20, police charged 10 people with impaired driving, traffic Const. Tom Armstrong said at a media event on Wednesday.

"Averaging one a day is not a real trend that we want to see," Armstrong said. "They're coming weekday, weekend, daytime, afternoon, night — it doesn't really seem to matter."

"It's a very concerning trend, one that affects all of us here," he said. "It's a very big public safety issue, and one we're hoping to address, and at some point in time, maybe shake people up enough to to realize it and to maybe see these numbers decline."

In one incident, officers were dispatched to Summit Avenue with reports of a suspected impaired driver on Aug. 10. The vehicle had left the area by the time officers arrived, but it was located and stopped in the 300 block of Memorial Avenue.

Officers noticed signs of impairment while speaking to the male driver, and placed him under arrest. However, while preparing to tow the vehicle, police said a female passenger got into to the driver's seat with the intention of driving away.

As a result, a 29-year-old man and 24-year-old woman, both from Webequie First Nation, both face impaired driving-related charges.

Another incident occurred at about 8:15 p.m. on Aug. 11, when police received reports of a multi-vehicle collision at the intersection of Donald and Selkirk streets. Investigation revealed two vehicles collided in the intersection, and one of them then struck a vehicle parked in a nearby driveway.

Officers observed signs that one of the drivers was impaired, and he was taken into custody.

A 32-year-old man from Marten Falls is facing charges of impaired driving, dangerous driving, and two counts of breach of probation.

On Aug. 16, a 30-year-old Thunder Bay man was charged with impaired driving, dangerous driving and refusing to provide a breath sample after a vehicle collided with a utility pole near Academy Drive and Balmoral Street just after 7 p.m. on Aug. 16.

While on the way, police learned the vehicle had left the scene, and had been driven to a parking not in the 500 block of North Syndicate Avenue, where police noticed signs of impairment while speaking with the driver. He was taken into custody.

In another case, a 32-year-old Thunder Bay man was charged with impaired driving after a vehicle crashed into a wooded area at Wardrope Avenue and Balsam Street at about 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 18.

In another incident, police were dispatched to the area of Brock Street and Ford Street at about 7:50 a.m. on Aug. 20 with reports of collision involving two vehicles, one of which was flipped onto its side.

Responding officers observed signs that one of the drivers was impaired. A 37-year-old Thunder Bay woman was charged with impaired driving, operating a vehicle while prohibited and failure to comply with a probation order.

Armstrong noted that every charge laid between Aug. 10 and 20 came through primary response — when police were called after a collision or when a suspected impaired driver was spotted on the road. None of the charges came from targeted impaired driving enforcement, such as RIDE checks.

Overall, Armstrong said police have laid about 120 impaired driving charges so far this year, which is about the same number of charges laid during the same time period in previous years.

"We sound like a broken record and we're saying the same old thing," Armstrong said. "With the multitude of options available, the awareness of the potential ramifications, be it financial, social, criminal, the records, the life-altering effects this can have, it blows my mind that people still do it.

"I don't know how we can get the message through," he said. "We know how wrong it is, how dangerous it can be, but people just want to play the odds.

"Eventually, in cases like this, they're gonna catch up to you."