A driver is facing Criminal Code charges after an incident in the Upper Ottawa Valley on April 6. At around 1:50 a.m., an Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officer on patrol found a vehicle with three occupants in a ditch on Rankin Rink Road in North Algona Wilberforce Township. Fortunately, no injuries were reported.
During the investigation, a Roadside Screening Device was used, and the driver, 58-year-old Bruce Ashick of Laurentian Valley Township, was taken to the OPP detachment for further testing. As a result, Ashick has been charged with two Criminal Code offences: operating a vehicle while impaired by alcohol and operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration over 80 mg.
Ashick’s driver’s license has been suspended for 90 days, and the vehicle was towed and impounded for seven days. He was released and is scheduled to appear in the Ontario Court of Justice in Pembroke on May 5.
(Written by: Emma Butler)