Woman receives $1,500 fine, one-year driving prohibition
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Brenda Turner, 60, appeared in the Ontario Court of Justice in Huntsville on Wednesday, March 6 where she pleaded guilty to the offence of what is now known as 80 or over under the updated offences in the Criminal Code following Bill C-46.
Crown attorney Peter Heath told the court on Feb. 11, 2019, a police officer with the Huntsville OPP observed a vehicle traveling at a slow rate of speed headed eastbound on Main Street East at approximately 10:17 p.m.
The vehicle was traveling about 15 kilometres per hour before turning right on Fairy Avenue at a speed of five kilometres per hour.
Concerned about the “excessively slow rate of speed” the officer performed a traffic stop on Mill Street. Upon speaking with the driver, the officer detected a strong minty odour, similar to mouthwash, said Heath. When asked if she had anything to drink in the prior 15 minutes, Turner said no and added she was going to work at the nursing home.
The officer requested a mandatory roadside breath demand and on the fourth attempt, the device registered a fail, indicating the driver had more than 100 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.
She was subsequently arrested and charged and was transported to the Huntsville OPP detachment where breath samples revealed a blood alcohol concentration of 154 and 151 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood approximately 40 minutes to more than an hour after the initial traffic stop.
Acting as duty counsel was Mallorie Malone who said the mandatory minimum fine under the new legislation of $1,500 would be a “substantial consequence” to Turner who is the only working individual in her household.
“She is extremely remorseful and says to me that she is never going to drink again,” said Malone.
Justice Ted Carlton found Turner guilty and sentenced her to a $1,500 fine and a one-year driving prohibition.
Source: MuskokaRegion.com