Impaired driver arrested and charged thanks to help from citizen

Kingston Police are crediting a concerned citizen for aiding them in catching an impaired driver who was driving erratically and dangerously.

The witness contacted police at approximately 11:45 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 30, 2018, and reported that a vehicle travelling westbound on Johnson Street was crossing the middle of the road and jumping up on the curb. The witness then provided on-going assistance to help police locate the vehicle, which was then going westbound on Bath Road near Centennial Drive.

The responding officer observed the vehicle swaying between lanes and conducted a traffic stop. It took multiple uses of the siren to get the accused driver to pull over, according to a press release from Kingston Police.

Once stopped, the officer observed that the accused man was impaired by alcohol, and the man was arrested and taken to Kingston Police Headquarters, where he provided two breath samples. The accused man was found to have just under three times the legal limit of alcohol in his system. The 50-year-old Kingston man was charged with impaired driving, and operating a vehicle with over 80 mg of alcohol in his system. His driver’s licence is automatically suspended for 90 days, and he will face a one-year-suspension if convicted. The vehicle was impounded for seven days, and the man will be responsible for all related fees and fines.