A Peterborough teen is facing multiple charges after abandoning the vehicle he was driving after it left the roadway and went into the Otonabee River on Sunday night (December 22).
At around 10:15 p.m. on Sunday, Peterborough County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and emergency crews responded to a call about a vehicle that had entered the Otonabee River from County Road 32 in Douro-Dummer Township.
The caller advised police they had come across debris from a collision and saw a vehicle partially submerged in the water of the river. They called out to the vehicle but did not get any response, and advised police they could see footprints coming up from the shoreline.
After officers and emergency crews arrived at the scene, they found an abandoned passenger vehicle in the water with the side windows open and airbags deployed. Officers conducted patrols of the area and were eventually able to contact the driver by phone.
The driver told police his vehicle had struck black ice, causing it to hit a tree and then enter the river. He advised police he was fine and had received a ride from the scene of the collision. He was reluctant to provide police with his location.
Officers determined the driver’s location and went to an address in Lakefield, where they spoke with the driver.
During the conversation, they detected the odour of an alcoholic beverage coming from the driver and administered an alcohol screening test, which registered an “alert”. The driver was issued a three-day licence suspension.
In Ontario, if a roadside breath test shows a result of 0.05 to 0.079 blood alcohol concentration, the driver can be given a warning and an immediate temporary licence suspension. The penalty for a first offence is a three-day licence suspension and a $250 fine.
In addition to the three-day licence suspension, the 17-year-old male driver from Peterborough was charged with four offences under the Highway Traffic Act: careless driving, a novice driver with a blood alcohol concentration above zero, failure to report an accident, and failure to remain at the scene of an accident.
