Bracebridge Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) has charged four more operators with impaired driving related offenses over the long weekend.
On August 2nd, 2024, at 8:50 p.m. Bracebridge OPP marine unit officers were patrolling the Severn River in Gravenhurst and conducted a vessel stop. Officers entered into an investigation regarding the presence of alcohol and subsequently arrested and charged 26-year-old Ryan Bayley of Orillia with Operation while Impaired- Over 80. The accused will appear in the Ontario Court of Justice in Bracebridge on August 27, 2024 to answer to his charge.
On August 3rd, 2024, just before midnight, a concerned member of the public called police regarding a vehicle in the ditch on Beaumont Drive near Stephenson Road in Bracebridge. Officers attended and were able to locate the driver, who was uninjured, and have charged 44-year-old Lorraine Howden of Tiny Township with Operation While Impaired and Over 80. The accused will appear in the Ontario Court of Justice on September 10, 2024, to answer to her charges.
On August 6, 2024 just after 2:00 a.m., a Bracebridge OPP officer was conducting general patrol in Bala near a licensed establishment and became concerned about the driving behaviour of a motorist on Muskoka Road 169. The officer conducted a traffic stop and subsequently arrested and charged 19-year-old Emery Farquhar of Barrie, ON with Operation While Impaired and Over 80. The accused will appear in the Ontario Court of Justice in Bracebridge on September 24, 2024, to answer to his charges.
Also on August 6, 2024 at 9:30 p.m. a Bracebridge OPP officer was conducting general patrol on Muskoka Road in Bracebridge and after observing concerning driving behaviour of another vehicle, conducted a traffic stop on Fraserburg Road near Cedar Lane. The officer soon began an investigation into the presence of alcohol and subsequently arrested and charged 35-year-old Brock Ferguson of Muskoka Lakes Township with Operation While Impaired Over 80. The accused will appear in the Ontario Court of Justice in Bracebridge on September 24, 2024 to answer to his charges.
The penalty in Ontario for impaired driving charges will include an immediate 90-day drivers license suspension and a minimum 7-day vehicle impoundment. An impaired operation of a vessel will also result in an immediate 90 day drivers license suspension.
Furthermore, in the province of Ontario, every driver of a motor vehicle who is under the age of 21 years must have a zero alcohol in their blood.
