Four area residents are facing impaired driving charges following separate incidents in the Upper Ottawa Valley (UOV) as part of ongoing efforts by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) to reduce impaired driving.
On October 31, at around 2:00 p.m., UOV OPP officers conducted a traffic stop on Petawawa Boulevard in Petawawa. After a roadside screening, 69-year-old Lawrence Chapienski of Petawawa was arrested and charged with operation while impaired by alcohol and operation while impaired with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 80 mg or more. Chapienski was released and is scheduled to appear in court on December 3.
Two days later, on November 2, at approximately 1:45 a.m., OPP officers stopped another vehicle on Petawawa Boulevard. Following a roadside test, 25-year-old Cole Birch of Chalk River was arrested and charged with operation while impaired by alcohol, operation while impaired with a BAC of 80 mg or more, and having care or control of a motor vehicle with an open container of liquor. Birch was released and will appear in court on December 16.
Later that same day, at around 3:30 a.m., officers stopped a speeding vehicle on Petawawa Boulevard. After a Standard Field Sobriety Test (SFST) and further testing by a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE), suspected cocaine was seized from the driver, 37-year-old Cory Edward Popkie of Pembroke. He was charged with operation while impaired by drugs, possession of a Schedule I substance (cocaine), speeding (1-49 km/h over the posted limit), driving with an open container of liquor, and driving while under suspension (two counts). Popkie was released and is scheduled to appear in court on December 10.
On November 4, at approximately 6:00 p.m., UOV OPP responded to a single-vehicle crash on Doran Road in Laurentian Valley Township. The driver, 30-year-old Stephan Murphy of Whitewater Region, was arrested after showing signs of impairment and charged with operation while impaired by alcohol and operation while impaired with a BAC of 80 mg or more. Murphy was released and is scheduled to appear in court on December 3.
In all four cases, the accused individuals had their driver’s licenses suspended for 90 days, and their vehicles were towed and impounded for seven days.
The OPP continues to remind drivers of the dangers of impaired driving and encourages anyone with information about impaired drivers to contact local authorities.
(Written by: Emma Butler)