2 women charged in Labrador for driving snowmobiles while impaired: RCMP

The RCMP logo is seen on the shoulder of a superintendent during a news conference on June 24, 2023 in St. John’s, Newfoundland. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Two women in Labrador are facing charges after Mounties say they were operating snowmobiles while impaired.

The separate incidents, which occurred in Hopedale and Nain, happened less than an hour apart on Monday, according to RCMP.

Just before 11 p.m. local time, Hopedale RCMP responded to a call from a “concerned member of the public,” who said an intoxicated woman had driven a snowmobile from a local bar and was heading toward potentially unsafe ice.

Police say they found the woman, 60, a short time later “showing signs of intoxication.” Officers provided her with a breath demand and arrested her for impaired operation. Once at the RCMP detachment, she provided breath samples that were over the legal limit, according to police.

Her licence was suspended, while her snowmobile was seized and impounded.

Allegedly impaired snowmobiler crashes

Around 11:30 p.m. that same night, Nain RCMP received a similar report of an impaired driver of a snowmobile in the area of Harmony Street.

The woman, 41, was found after the snowmobile crashed nearby, police said, adding that the driver “exhibited clear signs of impairment.”

Mounties say she refused a breath sample, leading to her arrest.

‘Increased level of risk’

Both women are charged with impaired operation, while the 41-year-old is also facing a charge for refusing to comply with a breath demand.

“Refusing to comply with a demand issued as part of an impaired driving investigation is a criminal offence. If convicted, the penalties are the same as a conviction of impaired driving,” RCMP said in a release Wednesday.

The two women are to appear in court on later dates.

“Impaired operation of any motor vehicle — including all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles — is a choice that places the driver and others at an increased, and unacceptable, level of risk. If you suspect an individual is driving any type of vehicle while impaired, please call 911 to make a report,” police added.