A 26-year-old Oshawa man has been charged after police found his vehicle early Sunday morning blocking traffic and the incident was caught on camera by Global News.
“We got a call for driver slumped over the wheel at the bottom of the off-ramp of the 401 and Port Union Rd. blocking lanes,” said Sgt. Kerry Schmidt of the Ontario Provincial Police.
“This could have very easily turned into a vehicle going into a live lane of traffic. It’s unbelievably dangerous.”
Officers were called to the area around 3:30 a.m. Police said the vehicle was in drive and the doors were locked. A tow truck was used to block the vehicle from speeding into a live lane.
An officer approached the driver-side window and knocked on the glass. The man then reacts, but then appears to fall back asleep.
It’s only after the second attempt by the officer to get the driver’s attention that he rolls down his window and surrenders to police.
David Ryan Galarza has been charged with impaired driving.
Meanwhile, since the beginning of 2016, Toronto Police have made over 1,000 impaired driving-related arrests.
Impaired driving has been linked to the deaths of 26 people in Ontario this year, the OPP said.
“Just over the weekend alone we’ve had over 60 impaired driving charges,” said Schmidt.
Carolyn Swinson, the Toronto spokeswoman for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said mandatory alcohol screening would help prevent more tragedies.
“I’m just angry and incredibly frustrated that people still take that risk,” she said.
Swinson herself has lost a family member because of an impaired driver.
“It’s a pain that you live with for the rest of your life. It’s something that never goes away.”
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