Impaired driver arrested after vehicle flees from OPP

On Sunday, July 12, at approximately 7:41 p.m., uniformed officers from the Caledon OPP Detachment responded to reports of a possible impaired driver on Learmont Avenue.

The complainant advised that the driver of a silver vehicle was driving erratically and could barely walk when he parked and exited the vehicle. Several minutes later, the same driver and a passenger got into the vehicle and proceeded to drive away.

The officers intercepted and approached the vehicle as it was about to leave the driveway of a residence. The officer detected a strong odour of alcoholic beverage emitting from the driver's breath. 

At that point, the officer attempted to arrest the driver, who was still seated behind the wheel of the car. The suspect vehicle proceeded to pull away causing the officer to run with the vehicle, as the officer was still attempting to gain control of the impaired driver.

The vehicle sped away on Learmont Avenue in a dangerous manner. Police later learned, that the suspect vehicle drove into the corner of a house and a parked vehicle on Losino Street.

The officers continued to search for the suspect vehicle and discovered a white sedan that was rear-ended by the suspect vehicle on Mayfield Road. The suspect vehicle was later involved in another collision on James Potter Road and Williams Parkway. At that point, the vehicle was abandoned by the driver and the passenger, as it was inoperable due to severe damage.

Upon approach of the suspect vehicle, the driver and the passenger exited the car, and ran from the scene. Both parties were apprehended and arrested by the officers after a brief foot pursuit. 

The driver, Subeethan Uthayakumar, 20, of Brampton, stands charged with:

Dangerous operation of a motor vehicle;

Operation while impaired - alcohol;

Operation while impaired - blood alcohol concentration above 80 mgs;

Flight from peace officer;

Fail to remain X three counts;

Novice driver - blood alcohol concentration above zero;

Young driver - blood alcohol concentration above zero;

Being intoxicated in public place;

Driving motor vehicle with liquor readily available, and

Driving motor vehicle with open container of liquor.

The accused is schedule to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in Orangeville on September 24, 2020, to answer to the charges.

The passenger, a 17-year-old youth from Brampton, has been charged with

Fail to comply with sentence X four counts;

Obstruct peace officer, and

Being intoxicated in public health.

The accused is schedule to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in Orangeville on September 21, to answer to the charges.

Caledon OPP would like to thank the members of the public for their assistance in this investigation.

Operation Safe Driver

The OPP is releasing Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) collision data as it prepares to join North American road safety partners to support Operation Safe Driver, a traffic enforcement campaign aimed at enhancing CMV safety.   

Last year marked the highest number of CMV collisions and fatalities on OPP-patrolled roads in more than 20 years.

The OPP responded to 8,432 collisions in 2019 that involved transport trucks and other types of CMVs. Ninety (90) of the incidents were fatal, killing 96 people and 1,078 of the crashes resulted in injuries. By comparison, there were 7,719 CMV-involved crashes in 2018. Fifty four (54) of these incidents resulted in the deaths of 62 people and injuries were sustained in 1,143 of the crashes.  

While Operation Safe Driver focuses on all driving behaviours that negatively impact on CMV safety, this year's campaign will emphasize speeding. In 2019, 1,249 of the 8,432 CMV collisions on OPP-patrolled roads were linked to speed, with 11 of the incidents resulting in fatalities and 246 of them causing injuries.  

“Our investigations reveal that speed, improper lane changes, following too closely, driver inattention and losing control were the top contributing factors in last year's commercial motor vehicle collisions. With commercial and passenger vehicle drivers linked to these and other poor behaviours every year, all drivers have a role to play in keeping our roadways safe,” said Chief Superintendent Rohan Thompson, Commander, OPP Highway Safety Division.

Operation Safe Driver is led by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), with enforcement and education initiatives being held across Canada, the United States and Mexico. The goal of the campaign is to enhance traffic safety among commercial and non-commercial vehicle drivers.

Nurse charged for unauthorized 

use of health information

Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Health Fraud Investigation Unit has charged a Belleville Ontario former nurse following an investigation into unauthorized use of personal health information.

Members of the Health Fraud Investigation Unit believe that a hospital nurse in the Belleville area accessed personal health information unlawfully while on duty over a six month period in 2018. This was first uncovered by the nurse's employer who conducted an audit of apparent breaches under the Personal Health Information Protection Act and ultimately the OPP Health Fraud Investigation Unit was called to investigate.

Police have charged Kimberley Ann Hokkanen, age 59, of Centre Hastings, with 69 counts of Use personal health information, contrary to section 72(1)(a) of the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA). The offences allegedly took place between February 17, 2018 and September 12, 2018.

The defendant has been summoned to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in Belleville on September 3.

The OPP Health Fraud Investigation Unit investigates criminal and provincial offences relating to the delivery of publicly funded health care services in Ontario including privacy breaches, frauds and offences against health care related provincial statutes such as the Health Insurance Act and the Ontario Drug Benefit Act. It's an offence to willfully collect, use, or disclose personal health information in oral or written form for any purpose without authority as defined in PHIPA.