A group of concerned citizens detained an impaired driver, who failed to stop after several collisions, on Highway 400 on Friday evening.
On July 26, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. the Provincial Communication Centre of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) began receiving calls reporting that a small brown SUV was driving in a dangerous fashion and had caused several collisions with other vehicles while travelling northbound on Highway 400 in Georgian Bay Township.
The suspect eventually pulled the heavily damaged vehicle to the side of the highway near the off-ramp of White’s Falls Road and the driver, who appeared intoxicated, exited the vehicle and was stopping traffic. Concerned citizens, who had stopped their vehicles, exited and physically detained the suspect to prevent him from harming himself or others. Police arrived on scene to find a group of people holding the driver to the ground. During the incident, an assisting motorist was assaulted by the suspect using a tire wrench.
Police arrested the driver and transported to detachment, however the accused refused to provide a breath sample. During the investigation, the accused also assaulted and threatened a police officer.
Further investigation revealed that the accused did not have consent to be operating the motor vehicle being driven. In addition, the accused was bound by a probation order at the time of the incident.
As a result of this investigation, Joshua Hannnon, 29 years of Tay Township, faces the following charges contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada:
- Impaired Operation of a Motor Vehicle
- Dangerous Operation of a Motor Vehicle
- Refuse to Comply with Breath Demand
- Take Motor Vehicle without Consent
- Assault with a Weapon
- Utter Threat to Cause Death x 2
- Assault Peace Officer
- Fail to Comply with Probation Order
The accused was held for a bail hearing before the Ontario Court of Justice on July 29, 2024. When charged with impaired driving, the driver’s licence of the accused is suspended for 90 days and the vehicle they were operating is impounded for 7 days.