York Regional Police say a 911 call from a concerned citizen who saw a man passed out behind the wheel of a car has led to numerous impaired driving charges against the man.
On July 7, shortly after 6 a.m., police received a call that a car was stopped at a stop sign for a long period of time at the intersection of 7th Concession and Lloydtown Aurora roads in King Township.
A video released by police shows a dashcam angle of the incident from the bystander’s vehicle and includes the audio of the 911 call.
“I’ve got a car sitting at a stop sign. Buddy’s passed right out,” the caller says.
“I’m just scared he’s going to get off the brake or something and fly out into the intersection.”
The caller adds: “I was going to try to wake him up but I don’t know if the car is in gear. I don’t want him to run me over or anything.”
Upon arrival, police say officers used their cruisers to box in the vehicle and attempted to wake up the driver by knocking on the window.
The caller tells the 911 operator: “I think it’s disgusting and sickening, that’s all.”
Police say that after numerous attempts, the driver woke up and opened the door for officers, who reportedly smelled a strong odour of alcohol.
A 19-year-old man from King Township was arrested for suspected impaired driving, and police say officers found an open bottle of rum as well as cannabis in the vehicle.
The man is now facing multiple charges, including impaired operation with a blood-alcohol content of 80-plus, driving a motor vehicle with cannabis readily available and with an open container of liquor and being a novice driver with a blood-alcohol content above zero.
In the video, York police that they receive around 5,000 calls to 911 to report impaired driving each year.
Const. Andy Pattenden, media relations, told Global News there has been about 2,900 calls so far this year and although not all of them are impaired driving, most of them are.