A 55-year-old man from Regina is facing serious charges after being stopped by RCMP at Swift Current. Not only did he fail a roadside sobriety test and have a driver’s license that expired in 2005; he had his 8-year-old grandchild in the vehicle with him when he was stopped.
On Thursday, May 14, 2020, around 11:30 a.m., the Saskatchewan RCMP’s Roving Traffic Unit (RTU) stopped an eastbound vehicle on Highway 1 approaching the city of Swift Current to check if the driver had a valid driver’s license.
During the stop, the male driver handed over a Saskatchewan photo identification card and said he did not have a driver’s license. A check of the male’s driver’s license through SGI showed his driver’s license had been expired since 2005.
During the stop, the investigating officer developed reasonable grounds to suspect that the driver had alcohol in his body. The driver was given the Approved Screening Device demand and provided a fail reading. The driver was subsequently arrested for impaired operation of a conveyance. The male driver’s 8-year-old grandchild was a passenger in the vehicle.
The 55-year-old male driver from Regina, SK, provided breath samples 1.5 times over the legal limit.
The driver has been charged with impaired operation of a conveyance, operating a conveyance over 80mg% of alcohol, driving without a valid driver’s license and consuming beverage alcohol in a motor vehicle. The driver will be appearing in Provincial Court in Swift Current in September.
The child was taken to the Swift Current Municipal RCMP Detachment by members of the Saskatchewan Highway Patrol. The child coloured pictures and ate lunch with the Saskatchewan Highway Patrol officers until the child’s mother arrived a few hours later and picked up her child.
The driver’s name will not be released to protect the identity of the child.