Kelowna RCMP busy with impaired drivers on St. Patrick’s Day weekend

KELOWNA – More than a dozen impaired drivers were caught in one night over the St. Patrick’s Day weekend in Kelowna.

One of them was prohibited from driving for a previous impaired driving incident.

Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey says during the early morning hours of March 18, RCMP set up a check stop in Rutland. The driver of a blue GMC passenger van showed signs of impairment, including the odour of alcohol.

The 24-year-old Kelowna man failed a roadside sobriety test and was taken to the local detachment, according to a media release.  

“Upon further investigation, police were able to determine that the alleged impaired driver was also a prohibited driver, under several driving prohibitions issued against him stemming from a previous impaired driving incident,” O’Donaghey says in the release.

Officers removed 14 suspected impaired drivers and two prohibited drivers from the streets the night of March 17 and during the early morning hours of March 18.


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Adam Proskiw

Adam Proskiw

Adam has lived in B.C. most of his life. He was born in the Caribou, grew up in the Okanagan, went to university on Vancouver Island and worked as a news photographer in Vancouver. His favourite stories incorporate meaningful photography and feature interesting, passionate locals. He studied writing at UVic and photojournalism in California. He loves talking tractors, dogs and cameras and is always looking for a good story.


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