Ont. man sentenced to six months in jail following third drunk driving conviction

A Dundalk-area man has been sentenced to six months in jail following his third impaired driving conviction for a drunken rampage through south Barrie three years ago.

Arlow Buehler, 53, who had been out on bail since his arrest, was convicted of crashing his truck into a Jeep Wrangler at the Ferndale Drive South and Ardagh Road intersection on March 16, 2023, at about 7 p.m. and then fleeing the scene before being arrested nearby when he hit the garage of a home on Gore Drive.

Investigators said Buehler was driving with three times the legal limit of alcohol in his system when he provided a sample 90 minutes after several witnesses called police to report seeing a driver out of control.

Buehler, the court heard, continued driving following the initial wrong-way crash, hitting snowbanks and reversing into a garage, leaving debris that included parts of his damaged truck along the way.

He was charged with failing to remain at the scene of a crash and dangerous and impaired driving, along with driving while prohibited. The court heard police found empty beer cans in Buehler’s truck.

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Buehler pleaded guilty in December 2025 to impaired driving and failing to remain following the crash. His case was marred by several delays, including Buehler failing to appear in court on several occasions. The defence asked the court for a conditional sentence including house arrest instead of actual jail time.

Justice Lynn Saunders disagreed with the defence, ruling Buehler failed to seek counseling or therapy, despite having three years to get help.

According to court records obtained by CTV News, Buehler was previously convicted and sentenced in 2014; he was fined and banned from driving for a year following a crash along Highway 11 northbound when a witness told police that the driver and passenger of one of the vehicles involved in the crash switched seats before officers arrived on scene.

Police concluded Buehler was under the influence of alcohol and driving while under suspension.

Buehler, Justice Saunders said, had also been banned from driving in 1996.

The judge told Buehler he was very fortunate that neither he nor anyone else was seriously hurt or killed as a result of his “abhorrent” actions in his latest drunken crash.

Following his release from jail, Buehler is banned from driving for three years.