An allegedly impaired driver heading the wrong way with “severely damaged” tires told an officer that he was “good” after being pulled over, video released by York Regional Police shows.
The incident reportedly happened after 2 a.m. on Dec. 31.
The video shows a York police vehicle heading down a road in the Bathurst Street and King Road area of King Township when a car is seen heading the wrong way.
The officer then turns the lights on the cruiser and the car slowly rumbles past with damaged tires.
The car then stops in the middle of the roadway after the officer turns around.
The officer requests backup and then approaches the car, telling the driver to open the window before asking, “What’s going on, man?”
“I’m good, man,” the driver responds.
“You’re not good, man. … I think you’re pretty drunk or you’re pretty high right now,” the officer says, to which the driver responds, “I don’t know, man.”
The man told the officer that he was coming from his friend’s party.
The officer then gets the driver to step out of the vehicle, telling him, “You trashed your car, by the way. You know that?”
“I know,” the driver says.
The driver then admits that he had been drinking, the video shows.
York police said in a news release that fluids were leaking from the vehicle and the four tires were “severely damaged.”
Breath samples showed the driver was over the legal limit and he was subsequently charged with impaired operation, impaired operation BAC over 80, and two counts of driving while prohibited, police said.
The 30-year-old man is from Richmond Hill, police said.
York police announced the arrest Wednesday as they also released the final number of impaired-related charges laid by the force in 2023, which was nearly 1,900.
There were 1,350 people charged by York Regional Police last year with a total of 1,884 impaired-related offences, police said.
The number of drivers charged dropped by about six per cent compared with 2022, when 1,441 people were charged, police added.
“Despite a slight decrease in the number of arrests year-over-year, these numbers mean our officers are charging three impaired drivers each and every day,” York police Chief Jim MacSween said.
“Impaired driving remains the leading criminal cause of death in Canada and it will not be tolerated in York Region.”