Impaired drivers in Parry Sound kept police busy to end 2024

Ending impaired driving in northern Ontario A number of groups met Monday in North Bay with an ambitious shared goal: finding ways to end impaired driving.

A series of impaired driving incidents in Parry Sound, Ont., earlier this week kept Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) busy.

The West Parry Sound detachment responded to three impaired driving incidents in only two days to end the year.

On Sunday evening at about 7 p.m., officers responded to a report of a suspicious person in the town.

“Police located the person in a vehicle on Bowes Street,” said police in a news release.

“The vehicle was stopped, and officers spoke with the driver and initiated an impaired driving investigation.”

As a result of that investigation, a 25-year-old local man now faces two impaired driving charges.

The next afternoon, at about 3 p.m. on Dec. 30, members of the detachment stopped a vehicle on Greenwood Crescent while on patrol.

“(Police) stopped the vehicle … to check the sobriety of the driver,” OPP said.

As a result of the traffic stop and subsequent investigation, a 64-year-old local man was charged with impaired driving.

Later that evening, at about 10 p.m., police were dispatched in response to a report of a dispute between two individuals.

“Police located one person in a vehicle on Gibson Street,” OPP said.

After stopping the vehicle officers spoke with the driver and again initiated an impaired driving investigation.

As a result of this third incident, a 25-year-old resident of Moose Deer Point First Nation now faces two impaired driving charges.

All of the accused were released and are scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 30 to answer the charges.

In addition to charges

In addition to the charges, the three northern Ontario drivers also had their licenses suspended for 90 days and the vehicles involved were impounded by police for seven days at the owner’s expense.

In total the West Parry Sound OPP detachment arrested 70 impaired drivers on area roads in 2024, according to a related social media post.

“Thank you to members of the public who call in traffic complaints on suspected impaired drivers,” said police.

“Drive sober.”