Barrie police arrested and charged four alleged impaired drivers in less than 16 hours since Wednesday morning.
City police say it started around 10 a.m. on March 6 when an officer on general patrol came across a three-vehicle collision at Simcoe and Mary streets.
Police say an SUV being driven by a 22-year-old Barrie man rear-ended a vehicle, which was pushed forward into another stopped car.
While speaking with those involved, police say officers determined the driver of the SUV was impaired and he was arrested. He was taken to Barrie Police Headquarters on Fairview Road where a drug-recognition evaluator confirmed that he was impaired by drug.
Police also learned the SUV he was operating was allegedly being driven without the owner’s consent.
The accused has been charged with operation of a motor vehicle while impaired by drug and taking a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent. He was later released and is scheduled to appear at the Barrie courthouse on April 3.
The night shift then started with a report of a single-vehicle collision involving a Porsche that was being operated southbound on Crawford Street when it left the road, struck a curb, travelled onto a boulevard where it struck an internet control box.
Police say the car went across a second property where it struck a retaining wall and then continued southbound to Ardagh Road.
"Internet to the immediate area was disrupted and the car sustained significant damage," police stated in a news release.
When officers arrived on scene, police say the driver, a 57-year-old Barrie man, exhibited "obvious signs of impairment" and was arrested.
He was transported to police headquarters where a breathalyzer operator determined that he was impaired by alcohol.
The man has been charged with operation of a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol, operation while impaired over .80 milligrams, driving without insurance and fail to report a crash. He was released from custody and is scheduled to appear in Barrie court on March 25.
Shortly after 1 a.m. this morning, an officer stopped a pickup truck on Essa Road at Gowan Street where the driver, a 31-year-old Georgetown man, "exhibited characteristics associated with being impaired," according to police.
An alcohol-screening device was administered and the man registered a fail. He was arrested and taken to headquarters where police say a breathalyzer operator confirmed he had consumed alcohol, but not enough to be criminally charged.
The driver was later charged under the Highway Traffic Act with being a novice driver with a blood-alcohol concentration above zero. His driver’s licence was suspended for three days and the truck was impounded.
Around that same time, another suspected impaired driver was reported to city police and concluded with a head-on collision involving a fully marked police vehicle at 1:20 a.m. on Johnson Street, near Alexander Avenue.
Police say the driver, a 43-year-old Barrie man, was arrested at the scene and has been charged with operation of a vehicle while impaired by drug, dangerous driving, possession of property obtained by crime, driving while prohibited and possession of a Schedule 1 substance (opioid other than heroin).
The police patrol vehicle sustained "moderate damage" and the officer was uninjured.
The driver of the pickup was transported to a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries and is being held in custody for a bail hearing.
"The Barrie Police Service is again reminding drivers that impaired driving is not acceptable and there are many available options to get home safely after a day or night out that involves alcohol or drugs," stated the release.
Each of the drivers who have been charged with impaired related offences have had their licences suspended for 90 days and their vehicles impounded in accordance with the Administrative Driver’s Licence Suspension program.
