Serious collision on Highway 38 leads to impaired driving charges
Kingston Police have laid charges after a Napanee man collided with a guardrail on Highway 38, sending the truck he was driving “careening down a steep embankment,” police said on Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021.
The collision occurred just after 10:15 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 29, 2021, when the accused man was travelling northbound on Highway 38, the lone occupant of a white, 2006 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck. According to Kingston Police, the man lost control of the vehicle just south of Cordukes Road, where he “struck the guardrail, became airborne, and was launched down the east embankment.”
As a result of the collision, the damaged guardrail ended up partially in the roadway, and was struck by a female driver in a sedan, also headed northbound, shortly after the initial incident. The female driver was either unharmed or sustained minimal injuries, police said in a press release.
Police said the male driver was able to get out of the wrecked truck, climb up the embankment, and make his way back to the roadway. Upon arrival, emergency responders – including Kingston Police and Frontenac Paramedics – were able to quickly ascertain that the man was under the influence of alcohol, and he was subsequently arrested for impaired driving.
The man was transported to hospital by Frontenac Paramedics, but appeared to have sustained non-life-threatening injuries, said Kingston Police, noting that they administered breath sample tests that indicated the accused man had more than two times the legal limit of alcohol in his bloodstream.
As a result, the man was charged with impaired operation of a conveyance (vehicle), and operation of a conveyance while exceeding a blood alcohol concentration with over 80 mg of alcohol per 100 mL of blood. He was released on a Promise to Appear with a future court date.
At the same time, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) are currently investigating the same man for possible additional charges of theft and possession of stolen property with regard to the truck, as he is not the registered owner of the vehicle, and it appears the vehicle was taken without the owner’s consent, Kingston Police said.
The Kingston Police Traffic Safety Unit and Forensic Identification Unit attended and processed the scene. The roadway remained closed until approximately 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021. The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information regarding the collision is asked to contact Kingston Police at 613-549-4660 and reference incident #21-46496 to report information.