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Man sentenced for drunk driving on wrong side of Ingraham Trail Terrence McEachern Northern News Services Published Friday, April 15, 2011
"It could have ended up much worse than it did," said Crown prosecutor Glen Boyd, who added the Ingraham Trail isn't a "rally track" where people can drive any way they want. Boyd told the court that on Feb. 17, 2011, at 11:10 p.m., the Yellowknife RCMP received a call that a grey Toyota pick-up truck was swerving all over the Ingraham Trail and had almost hit an oncoming truck. A police patrol car was dispatched and it caught up with the truck at the 21-km marker on the Ingraham Trail, headed away from the city. The truck was driving at about 50 km/h, swerving from side to side and at one point driving on the left shoulder of the road. The officer turned on the overhead lights, but the truck continued driving erratically so the officer pulled up beside the truck with the intention of forcing it off the road, said Boyd. However, once the driver noticed the RCMP vehicle beside him, he pulled over. The officer approached the truck and noticed a strong smell of alcohol coming from the driver. The driver was taken to the Yellowknife RCMP detachment and registered two breathalyzer samples - both 100 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit is 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. The driver was charged with driving with a blood alcohol level over the legal limit. Boyd requested a fine in the range of $1,200-$1,400 and a 16-18 month driving ban. Defence lawyer Serge Petitpas said this was the first offence for his client, who has been previously employed by the federal and territorial government, and now works in Fort Good Hope. He added the offender is originally from Ontario but moved to Yellowknife in 1972. Judge Christine Gagnon granted Petitpas' sentence recommendation of a $1,150 fine and a 12-month driving ban, even though she added the driver's behaviour was "extremely dangerous" and that he placed "his life and the lives of others at risk" that night. When asked if he wanted to say anything to the court, the offender first said, "not really," but then said he was remorseful for what he did and that he had made a mistake.
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