College president in P.E.I. gets seven days in jail for impaired driving

CHARLOTTETOWN – The president of a college in Prince Edward Island has been sentenced to seven days in jail after being caught driving with a blood alcohol level almost three times over the legal limit.

Brian McMillan of Holland College was also facing a charge of impaired driving, but that was stayed when he pleaded guilty in provincial court to failing a roadside blood alcohol test.

Crown prosecutor Jeff MacDonald says it’s typical for first-time impaired driving offences to carry a period of incarceration in P.E.I., though many other jurisdictions impose the minimum punishments of a fine and temporary driving prohibition.

He says McMillan elected to serve the seven days all at once, beginning Monday in a provincial correctional facility in Sleepy Hollow.

MacDonald says McMillan was spotted driving erratically on May 1 after he left the airport, and was found to be slurring his words and smelling of alcohol when officers pulled him over.

MacDonald says his blood alcohol reading was 220 milligrams, with the legal limit being 80 milligrams.