A $3,000 fine and two-year driving ban for an over-80 conviction may be the least of a Woolwich Township man’s worries.
The man, 39, is a permanent resident and could be deported to Jamaica.
“He is exposed to an inadmissibility hearing and possible removal from Canada,” defence lawyer Benjamin Vincents told Kitchener court on Thursday.
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“We hope that doesn’t happen, but that’s one risk that’s before him.”
The conviction for driving with more than the legal limit of alcohol in his blood could also prevent him from sponsoring his three children in Jamaica to become permanent residents here, court was told.
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At 7:50 p.m. on Aug. 22, 2023, the man was speeding his car down a residential street in Breslau when he lost control and hit a car parked in a driveway, court was told. His car wound up on a front lawn.
The man tried to drive away, but the car was wrecked.
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When police arrived, he was unsteady on his feet and smelled of alcohol. The man refused to give a breath sample. “I do not give consent,” he said.
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The man complained of chest pain and was taken to hospital.
Almost three hours after the crash, he gave breath samples. The first revealed 142 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. The second showed 130 mg. The legal driving limit is 80 mg.
“Any episode of drinking and driving is a potential time bomb,” Justice Pamela Borghesan told him.
“We read about the tragedies often in the headlines — people who have been killed, people who have been injured, because somebody got behind the wheel of a vehicle having had too much alcohol to drink.”
The judge agreed to a recommendation from the Crown and defence for a $3,000 fine and two-year driving ban.
The sentence takes into account the danger he posed, but also the fact he pleaded guilty, has no prior record and said he quit drinking after the crash.
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“It also takes into account the potential collateral consequences, perhaps to you, perhaps to your children in Jamaica,” Borghesan said.
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