Impaired driver charged after rear-ending two vehicles

Kingston Police arrested and charged a local woman after she struck two vehicles in less than 10 minutes in the downtown core.

At approximately 9:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 30, 2019, the accused woman rear-ended a vehicle that was stopped for a red light at the intersection of King Street and The Tragically Hip Way. The accused woman fled the collision scene, and, approximately seven minutes later, she rear-ended another vehicle near the intersection of Queen and Clergy Streets. After striking the second car, the accused woman hit that car for a second time before again fleeing the scene. The driver of the first vehicle that was struck was not injured, but the driver of the second vehicle was taken to hospital with minor threatening injuries, according to Kingston Police.

Police located the accused woman as she was turning into a driveway on Patrick Street. The vehicle was smoking, missing a headlight, and had moderate front end damage. According to Kingston Police, the damage to the driver’s door was significant enough that the door had to be forced open by police.

The officer on the scene made observations that the accused was impaired by alcohol, and the woman was arrested and taken to Kingston Police Headquarters, where she provided two breath samples. The accused woman was found to have more than two-and-a-half times the legal limit of alcohol in her system. The 32-year-old Kingston woman was charged with impaired driving by alcohol, driving with a blood alcohol level equal to or over 80 mg, and two counts of leaving the scene of an accident while failing to give name or offer assistance. Additionally, the woman’s driver’s licence was automatically suspended for 90 days and she will face a one-year suspension if convicted. Her vehicle was seized and impounded for seven days, and the accused woman will be responsible for all related fees and fines.