Ontario Provincial Police saved and then arrested a Quebec man who they say was impaired while operating a kayak in Quinte West, Ont., over the weekend.
On Sunday, around 1 p.m., Quinte West OPP received a call about a person in distress in the Bay of Quinte, about 300 metres away from shore.
The man found himself outside of the kayak with no life-jacket on, according to police. A nearby witness noticed him screaming from shore and called OPP, police say.
OPP, the Quinte West Fire Department and Hastings-Quinte paramedics assisted in the water rescue.
OPP say officers later determined the kayaker was impaired by alcohol while operating the kayak, but police would not divulge how far over the legal limit the man’s blood-alcohol concentration reportedly was.
Sebastien Rancourt, a 38-year-old from Saint-Gilles, Que., was charged with operation while impaired by alcohol and operation while impaired with a blood-alcohol concentration over 80 milligrams.
The man’s driver’s licence was suspended for 90 days, and he will have to appear in a Belleville court in late April to answer to his charges.
OPP want to remind people that it is against the law to use a canoe or kayak while impaired and those who do will be charged as if they were operating a motor vehicle.