One vehicle, two impaired

Police got double the number of impaired drivers off the road in just one incident over the long weekend. Morinville RCMP Constable Yelena Avoine said police observed a woman talking on a cell phone around 12:15 a.m. Aug. 31 at a check stop at Highway 37 and Highway 2.

“At the very beginning of the check stop a vehicle approached and they noticed the female was talking on her cell phone,” Avoine said, adding once the vehicle pulled over, subsequent investigation revealed the driver; a 27-year-old St. Albert resident, was possibly intoxicated. “The female driver was arrested for impaired driving. While she was sitting in the backseat of the police vehicle it was noticed that the vehicle that she was driving started to move.”

On approaching the vehicle, the officer noticed the passenger had got behind the wheel and was taking off with the vehicle.
Police followed the vehicle a short distance when the vehicle went into the ditch on Highway 2 just north of Highway 37. The driver fled on foot and was subsequently located with the assistance of police dogs.

Avoine said the man, a 28-year-old St. Albert resident, was also arrested for impaired driving. He is also charged with dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and operating a motor vehicle while being pursued by police.

The pair will make their first appearance in Morinville Provincial Court Oct. 4. Their names are not being released by police.

Young driver de-horsed

An 18-year-old Sturgeon County man found police are serious about enforcing the new administrative penalties for blood alcohol levels between .05 and .08.

Police report the graduated drivers licence holder was stopped around 12:44 a.m. Sept. 1 after an officer on patrol observed a vehicle driving erratically.

The driver was given a roadside test and blew a warning. As a graduated drivers licence holder, he was issued a one-month licence suspension and had his vehicle seized for seven days.
Police are not issuing the name of the driver.

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