Street sweeper driver in Mississauga charged with drinking alcohol while on highway

A 48-year-old man is facing impaired driving charges after several people complained they saw the driver of a street sweeping vehicle drinking alcohol on a Mississauga highway.

Sgt. Kerry Schmidt, spokesperson for the Ontario Provincial Police Highway Safety Division, posted a message on Periscope and a picture of the vehicle on Twitter, along with pleas to citizens to avoid drinking if they’re planning to operate a vehicle of any kind.

The sergeant said in a Periscope broadcast that police received calls from people who allegedly saw the driver of a street sweeper drinking while behind the wheel on the Queen Elizabeth Way last week.

“This is a huge concern for us,” said Schmidt in the Periscope broadcast. He went on to say police have charged between 4,000 and 5,000 people with impaired driving this year alone, which is quickly gaining on last year’s total of approximately 9,000. Schmidt says 33 people have died from driving-under-the-influence incidents in 2017.

“This is completely unacceptable,” Schmidt continued. “People are making poor decisions, poor choices, and getting into a vehicle of whatever type, and driving down the roads. People are getting hurt and people are dying.”

He ended the broadcast by thanking the people who called police.

“You have a huge role to play in road safety,” he said.

Aaron Duffy, 48, is facing charges of impaired driving over 80 as well as keeping open liquor in a vehicle.