NEWS RELEASE
YORK REGIONAL POLICE
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Once again, 20 impaired drivers were removed from York Region roads this past week, adding to the more than 100 impaired-related criminal charges laid already this year.
York Regional Police thanks members of the community for helping us stop and arrest impaired drivers by calling 9-1-1. We consider these incidents a life-threatening crime in progress and will continue to respond to these calls.
On Sunday, Jan. 27, 2019, shortly before 3 a.m., York Regional Police were called to the area of Warden Avenue and Yorktech Drive in the City of Markham for a single vehicle that had left the roadway. When officers arrived they located the vehicle with a lone male asleep in the driver’s seat.
The vehicle was running and a tire was spinning as the vehicle was in gear and the driver's foot was still on the accelerator. Officers were unable to wake the driver and with the assistance of Markham Fire and Emergency Services, a window on the vehicle was broken.
There was a strong smell of alcohol coming from the driver who was placed under arrest and transported to hospital. He was later charged with Impaired Driving and the investigation is ongoing.
A list of all the drivers charged with impaired-related criminal driving offences from Jan. 21 to 28, 2019, is below.
The legal consequences of an impaired driving charge can include roadside vehicle impoundment and automatic driver’s licence suspension, as well as further consequences imposed by the courts, including longer licence suspensions, large fines and in some cases, jail time.
We are reminding drivers that York Regional Police conducts RIDE spot checks year-round and that our officers are always watching for suspected impaired drivers. We also continue to encourage citizens to call 9-1-1 if you spot a suspected impaired driver.
We’re not giving up.
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20 drivers charged with impaired-related criminal driving offences from Jan. 21 to 28:
- Craig Healey, 50, Town of Newmarket
- 80 Plus
- Fail to Remain
- Jason Bailey, 37, State of Texas
- Refuse
- Paul Schmitz, 54, State of North Carolina
- 80 Plus
- Female, 30, Town of East Gwillimbury
- Impaired Operation
- 80 Plus
- Jasotharan Ravinthirathasan, 37, City of Toronto
- Impaired Operation
- Mikhail Vasiliev, 29, Town of Aurora
- Care and Control While Impaired
- Care and Control BAC
- Carissa-Lee Middleton, 29, Gilford
- Impaired Operation
- 80 Plus
- Shou Gao, 32, Town of Richmond Hill
- Impaired Operation
- Volodymyr Gulevych, 43, City of Toronto
- 80 Plus
- Jose Lemus, 50, City of Markham
- Impaired Operation
- 80 Plus
- [Name removed Aug. 12/19, charge dropped], 24, Town of Aurora
- 80 Plus
- Pauline Gallagher, 66, Town of Newmarket
- 80 Plus
- Shenae Gordon, 30, City of Vaughan
- 80 Plus
- Haoran Li, 23, City of Markham
- Impaired Operation
- 80 Plus
- Christopher Torres, 35, City of Toronto
- Impaired Operation
- Refuse
- Andrew Sugrim, 28, Town of Uxbridge
- Impaired Operation
- Gregory Siblock, 35, Town of Bowmanville
- Impaired Operation
- 80 Plus
- Fail to Comply With Recognizance
- Soheil Sadeh, 38, Town of Aurora
- Impaired Operation
- 80 Plus
- Athiththan Kanaganayagam, 29, Town of New Tecumseth
- Impaired Operation
- Ramkrishna Lakshmanaswamy, 64, City of Toronto
- Impaired Operation
- 80 Plus
- Dangerous Operation
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