Driver ditches SUV, enters swamp, climbs tree in bizarre incident east of Wingham

A 39-year-old South Bruce man is facing multiple charges following a bizarre sequence of events on Friday east of Wingham that ended with officers having to talk the man down from a large tree, Huron OPP said.

Officers were called to the area of Orange Hill Road in Howick, Ont., northeast of Gorrie, at around 8:30 p.m. after receiving a report that a vehicle was nearly struck by a possible impaired driver, police said Monday.

As police were making their way to the scene, the driver ditched his SUV and ran into a nearby swamp, officials said. After leaving the swamp, the man then allegedly got into a parked vehicle, was confronted by the vehicle’s owner, ran again, and climbed a nearby tree.

Once at the scene, police managed to coax the man into climbing down and turning himself in.

According to the investigating officer, the driver was exhibiting several signs of being under the influence of an unspecified drug, something that was later confirmed by a drug recognition expert at the OPP’s Wingham detachment, police said.

The accused faces a charge of impaired operation by drug, theft of motor vehicle, and trespass by night.

He has been released from custody with a court date of March 13, 2017 in Goderich, police said.