PARRY SOUND – The driver of a speeding Mercedes lost his driver’s license for a week after traveling 70 kilometres over the limit.
The West Parry Sound OPP was using radar to check the speed of traffic on Highway 69 at Shawanaga First Nation on August 15 when, at 9:29 p.m., a southbound Mercedes was clocked at 160 km/hr in a 90-km/hr zone.
According to police, the driver couldn’t give a reason for speeding except that he was overtaking other vehicles and the vehicle was “new to him.”
A 48-year-old man of Shedden Township, between Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie, was charged with performing a stunt and is set to appear in a Parry Sound court on the charge. His license was suspended for seven days and the Mercedes impounded for a week. A conviction could include a sentence of up to a $2,000 find, a one-year driving prohibition and up to six months in jail.
Aggressive driving continues to be a focus of the West parry Sound OPP, said community services officer Charles Ostrom.
That was one of 232 calls for service the West Parry Sound OPP responded to between August 15 and August 21. Others included seven thefts, 12 motor vehicle collisions, five alarm calls, six break and enters, seven charges under the liquor license act and 25 separate 911 calls, of which one was from a six-year-old playing on the phone, one from a man upset with the number of vehicles in a hotel parking lot, and one from a motorist delayed on Highway 69 after a collision between two other vehicles. The remainder were pocket dials or accidental calls.
Borrowed gun
A McDougall Township man is facing a charge of not storing his shotgun properly after waiting two weeks to report it stolen from an ATV.
According to police, the man said he’d last used the double-barrel shotgun about two weeks previous to kill nuisance beavers. Afterward, having consumed alcohol, the man left his ATV where it was with the gun onboard. The gun wasn’t loaded, but it wasn’t stored behind lock and key, nor did it have a trigger lock.
When the man returned for the bike, he found the gun missing, but didn’t report it to police immediately with the possibility someone had simply borrowed it. The man reported the theft on August 16 at 1:24 p.m.
A 54-year-old McDougall man faces summons to court on a charge of careless storage of a firearm.
The gun has not been recovered. Anyone with information is asked to contact Const. Brandon Catcher at 1-888-310-1122.
Rear-end
A 17-year-old-girl was taken to hospital after a car ran into the back of a transport truck on Highway 124 at Balsam Road and went into the ditch. Police were called on August 17 at 9:29 a.m. Parry Sound Ambulance responded and took the car’s driver to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The vehicle was towed away. Alcohol wasn’t a factor, police said.
A 17-year-old girl was charged with careless driving under the highway traffic act. The charge comes with a $490 fine and six demerit points.
Sideswipe
Two pickup trucks, a Ford Ranger and a Chevy Silverado, collided on Bowes Street on August 18 when one sideswiped the other, police reported. The local OPP responded to the collision at 1:26 p.m. According to police, alcohol wasn’t a factor.
An 18-year-old man of Seguin Township was charged with making an unsafe lane change.
Domestic dispute
Police responded to a Mall Drive parking lot after a 911 call from a person concerned for the safety of a woman following an earlier domestic assault at a different location, police reported. The call was placed at 9:41 p.m. on August 19. Police missed the man and woman at the parking lot, but tracked them down soon afterward.
A 29-year-old man of Sables-Spanish Rivers Township was charged with domestic assault.
911
Four 911 calls between 11:46 a.m. and 11:54 a.m. on August 20 were all non-emergencies and potentially came from the same cell phone as the owner traveled through Seguin Township. Police weren’t able to locate the owner or get the call back number.
Drunk in the park
Killbear Provincial Park staff called police at 7:28 p.m. on August 21 with a man in their custody accused of drunk driving within the park.
Several officers responded to the call.
A 44-year-old Georgiana, Ontario man was charged with impaired driving, drunk driving, and driving with liquor at hand. His license was suspended for a week and the SUV was impounded for seven days.