South Okanagan Mounties get assistance from public in getting impaired drivers off the road

PENTICTON – Police were out in force in the South Okanagan and Similkameen this past weekend, removing several impaired drivers from the region’s roads as a result.

Impaired drivers were found in every community between Penticton and Princeton between Feb. 5 and Feb. 7, South Okanagan Traffic Services media spokesperson Sgt. Harold Hallett says in a release.

Charges included impaired driving, failure to provide breath samples, immediate roadside prohibitions ranging from 24 hours to 90 days, and a cocaine possession charge.

Hallett says several calls from the public assisted the police in locating and catching impaired drivers.

A 50-year-old woman was arrested Saturday, Feb. 6, around 7:30 p.m. after colliding with a parked vehicle and a fence on her way to a Penticton liquor store — while in her pyjamas.

A 56-year-old female driver was reported to police after a motorist witnessed her driving in the oncoming lane. Police found her parked in Okanagan Falls at approximately 10:30 p.m. Saturday.

A 28-year-old was also witnessed driving at a high rate of speed in the oncoming lane Saturday around 8 p.m. The driver was three times over the legal limit for alcohol and was also found in possession of cocaine.

An impaired 50-year-old man was apprehended in Cawston on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. The man was also found to be an unlicensed driver.

Hallett says the South Okanagan Traffic Services are appreciative of citizens’ effort to report impaired drivers, noting it was also fortunate no one died on South Okanagan and Similkameen roads this weekend.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad at sarstad@infonews.ca or call 250-488-3065. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.