Blue Hills RCMP say officers have seen a disturbing trend over the last few days on the roadways in southwestern Manitoba. In three days, four impaired drivers were charged, including a mother with two young children in the vehicle.
On July 6, 2022, at approximately 9:45 pm, Blue Hills RCMP responded to a report of a single-vehicle rollover on Richmond Avenue West, near Road 66. The dispatch came in that two children under five years of age were in the vehicle.
When officers arrived on scene, a severely damaged vehicle was on the north side of Richmond Avenue West. The windshield had been torn from the vehicle and the roof had caved in. A 29-year-old female from Brandon and her two female children, aged five years and 11 months old, had been extricated from the vehicle and transported to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The scene was investigated, then the officers attended to the hospital, where the female driver was tested, and it was determined she was impaired. When the driver was released from the hospital, she was arrested for Impaired Operation of a Conveyance Over .08 and Impaired Operation Causing Bodily Harm.
Her license has been suspended, and she has been released from custody with a court date.
This was not the only impaired driver encountered by Blue Hills RCMP. Earlier in the week, on July 3, 2022, at approximately 12:25 am, an officer was patrolling on Highway 340 in the RM of Cornwallis when a vehicle travelling eastbound activated the high beams when passing the police vehicle. The officer pulled over the 57-year-old male driver from Sprucewoods, and it was determined he was impaired. He was arrested for Impaired Operation of a Conveyance and Impaired Operation of a Conveyance Over .08.
His license has been suspended, and he has been released from custody with a court date.
Finally, on July 5, 2022, two males, aged 43 and 26, both from Brandon, were stopped during checkstops in different locations by Blue Hills RCMP. Both males were tested for impairment and both results were warnings. The vehicles were impounded for three days, and the males were issued 72-hour suspensions.
“Unfortunately, I’m not surprised we continue to find impaired drivers on the roadways, but I am very disappointed,” said Corporal Jacob Stanton of the Blue Hills RCMP. “Making such a high-risk choice makes absolutely no sense to me. That powerful machine you are driving needs your full attention, so why would you impair yourself and take away your ability to maintain control? It’s such a dangerous and thoughtless decision. I hope these instances over the past few days might help people make better decisions. We are out there patrolling in an effort to keep you and everyone else on the roadway safe.”