A Michigan motorist who mistakenly drove up to Canadian customs at the Blue Water Bridge while impaired was recently blasted by a Sarnia judge.
Article content
“When somebody drinks and drives at a major international crossing like that and places the border services agents – in addition to the other users of the bridge – at risk by their extremely poor lack of judgment, it’s a real concern for the court,” Justice Mark Poland said.
Lambton OPP, who issued a news release about the incident, said Keith Ozbun, 35, from Harrison Township, Mich., made a wrong turn and entered Canada by the twin-span bridge on May 6 shortly before 1:30 am The court heard Canada Border Services Agency officers watched as a brown Cadillac barreled toward their booths.
“They were fearful he was going to drive through the barrier,” assistant Crown attorney Amir Hage said.
After being arrested, Ozbun admitted to the border officers he’d been drinking. He failed a roadside sobriety test, was arrested and Lambton OPP officers were called to take custody of him.
Article content
At headquarters in Petrolia, two tests taken about three hours later showed he still had 160 milligrams of alcohol in 100 milliliters of blood, twice the legal limit of 80 milligrams.
“These were high readings and they occurred in a pretty concerning context,” Poland said.
Initially facing two impaired driving-related charges, Ozbun recently pleaded guilty to one count of being over the legal limit within two hours of driving. He was fined $2,000 and banned from driving for one year in Canada. Poland endorsed him there will likely be a reciprocal ban in the US, although the rules are different in each state.
He also warned him most people who break the rules and drive while prohibited end up in jail.
Lambton OPP have issued four other news releases about similar incidents at the Blue Water Bridge since Ozbun’s arrest. A 43-year-old Camlachie man was allegedly more than double the limit while returning home from the US in May; a 38-year-old from Hicksville, NY and a 60-year-old man from Fort Gratiot, Mich., were both allegedly impaired during separate incidents in July; and last week a 40-year-old Chesterfield, Mich., resident was also impaired, police said.
The eastbound span of the bridge connecting Port Huron, Mich., with Sarnia’s neighbor, Point Edward, reopened last month after being closed since the end of May for rehabilitation work.
Share this article in your social network