Driver arrested with blood-alcohol level 4 times over legal limit, York police say
39-year-old man from Whitchurch-Stouffville charged with impaired driving
A tip from a concerned citizen led to the arrest of a man who York Regional Police say was driving with a blood alcohol level almost four times over the legal limit — and it was all captured on camera.
Shortly before 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 28, officers responded to a 911 call from someone who said they watched a vehicle swerving on Elgin Mills Road in Markham. A police helicopter shot video of the vehicle, which police said was "driving all over the road."
Police stopped the vehicle and arrested a man, 39, from Whitchurch-Stouffville. The driver is now facing two charges, including impaired driving.
The arrest comes as York police released their 2017 impaired driving statistics, which show more people are driving under the influence of drugs.
Police say the 2017 stats show a 21 per cent increase in drug-impaired driving charges from 2016, and a "shocking" 90 per cent increase from 2015, according to a news release issued Wednesday.
Chief Eric Jolliffe says the numbers are alarming given the legalization of marijuana in Canada scheduled for later this year.
"These incredibly disappointing numbers must serve as a wake-up call that something has to change," Jolliffe said in the release.
"In light of the continued warnings about the dangers of impaired driving from police services across Canada, it's shocking that anyone feels they have the right to risk the lives of innocent people by drinking alcohol or using drugs and getting behind the wheel of a vehicle."
Of the drivers arrested, York police say 82 per cent were men and 18 per cent were women.