Caledon man charged with imparied driving follow a family dispute

Caledon Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officers responded to a family dispute in the area of King Street West and Queen Street North in Bolton on Thursday, Feb. 14 at about 7:04 pm.

 The officers located a very intoxicated male beside his vehicle, who was drinking liquor out of the bottle and placed him under arrest. A 34-year-old man of Caledon, has been charged with:

Operation while impaired - alcohol

Operation while impaired - blood alcohol concentration (80 plus)

Dangerous Operation of a Motor Vehicle

Failure to Stop after Accident

Fail to Remain after Accident

Fail to Report Accident

Fail to Comply with Recognizance

The investigation revealed that the male was involved in two fail to remain collisions that happened minutes before him arriving at the residence. First, at Mount Hope Road and Castlederg Sideroad, and second at King Street and Mill Street. No injuries were reported as a result those collisions.

The accused is scheduled to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in Orangeville on Feb. 19, 2019 to answer to the charges.

The OPP is committed to ensuring Ontario Roads are safe from alcohol-impaired and drug-impaired driving.  

OPP report traffic fatalities down on and off the road

The OPP is reporting decreases in all categories of fatalities on Ontario Provincial Police (OPP)-patrolled roads, waterways and trails in 2018, when compared to the previous year.      

(All data is preliminary and reflects OPP-patrolled jurisdictions only):

Roads

 There were 296 fatal road collisions last year in which 333 people lost their lives. By comparison, there were 304 fatal crashes and 343 deaths in 2017.

While fatal crashes were slightly down, personal injury and property damage collisions drove numbers up. In total, the OPP responded to 72,060 collisions last year, compared to 68,782 in 2017.

 Road deaths in all but one of the “Big Four” categories were down last year. The “Big Four” refer to the four main causal factors in road fatalities and account for the majority of deaths on our roads. Most notably, last year marked the lowest number of inattentive-related road deaths in almost 10 years.

 “Big Four” causal factors:   Fatalities

                                      2018                   2017

Inattentive-related:                55                     82

Speed-related:                          76                     75

Seat belt-related:                     50                    51

Alcohol/drug-related:            56                    58

   Transport Trucks

There were 7,674 collisions involving transport trucks in 2018, marking a four-year high. Fifty-five of the crashes were fatal and 1,142 of them resulted in personal injuries.  In 2017, there were 7,287 transport truck collisions, 79 fatal incidents and 1,253 personal injury crashes.

Transport truck drivers were reported as being at-fault in just over half of the collisions over the two-year period, with improper lane changes and following too closely being the top contributing factors.   

Motorcycles

 Thirty-six people died in motorcycle collisions last year, with speed and losing control topping the list of contributing factors. By comparison, there were 48 fatalities in 2017 with improper turning and alcohol impairment as the lead factors.  

 Off-road

 Nineteen people died in off-road vehicle incidents in 2018, compared to 22 the previous year. More than half (10) of the riders who died were not wearing a helmet and alcohol was a factor in almost half (8) of the fatalities. Over the past ten years, alcohol has been a factor in 42 per cent of off-road vehicle fatalities.  

 Marine 

Twenty-four people lost their lives in boating incidents last year, down from 31 deaths in 2017. All but two (22) of the deceased were not wearing a personal floatation device (PFD). Over the past ten years, 85 per cent of those who died in boating incidents were not wearing a PFD or life jacket. Falling overboard and capsized vessels continue to be the top two primary causes in boating deaths.    

 Snowmobiles

There were 13 people killed in snowmobile incidents during the 2017/18 season, compared to 27 in 2016/17. Over the past ten years, 37 per cent of snowmobile fatalities have occurred on frozen waterways. Over the same ten-year period, the primary “driver action” associated with the fatalities was driving too fast for the conditions. 

Traffic charges 

 In 2018, OPP officers laid a total of 381,714 traffic-related charges under the Highway Traffic Act and Criminal Code. There were 375,965 such charges laid in 2017. 

The OPP is proud to be patrolling some of the safest highways in North America and attributes this to strong partnerships with government and other agencies.

Police help divert 43 ‘Modern Day Slaves'

Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), Barrie Police Service, Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and community-based agencies have released more details of a labour human trafficking investigation with connections to central and eastern Ontario.

Since 2018, police began investigating information that suggested Mexican-born workers were being trafficked and/or defrauded by a cleaning company based in Barrie. They had been brought to Canada under the pretense of being here for either educational purposes or the promise of work visas and eventual permanent residency status.

At a news conference, OPP Deputy Commissioner Rick Barnum, Barrie Police Chief Kimberley Greenwood and representatives from Canada Border Services Agency, Barrie and Area Victim Services, and County of Simcoe Paramedic Services elaborated on their organization's roles prior to, during, and after last week's police activities.

The victims initially paid the traffickers large sums of money to leave their home country and be transported to Canada. Once here, the victims were made to live in squalid conditions at locations in Barrie and Wasaga Beach. The victims were transported by the traffickers to and from forced work locations in Collingwood, Innisfil, Oro-Medonte and Cornwall. The traffickers controlled wages and charged the victims fees for accommodations and transportation.

On Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019, approximately 250 front line and support unit members from the OPP, Barrie Police and CBSA executed 12 search warrants in Barrie and Wasaga Beach. Thanks to advanced, victim-focused planning, the 43 victims - mostly males ranging in age from 20 to 46 years - were brought to safety, re-housed and provided with legal employment.

The investigation is ongoing and criminal charges are expected be laid at a later date. But police and community support advocates remind everyone that, if they believe they or someone they know is a victim of any form of human trafficking, to contact police or community victim services agencies for assistance.