AbbyPD arrest man suspected of 5th impaired driving charge

Police in Abbotsford arrested a 39-year-old man Tuesday after he allegedly caused a single-vehicle crash while impaired.

When officers arrived around 1 a.m. at Old Clayburn Road near Saddle Park, the scene of the incident, they only found the crashed vehicle without the driver.

Shortly after, police found the man, whom they believed to be the sole occupant of the vehicle, before he ran away.

When collecting the driver’s details, police say, officers found the man could be facing his fifth impaired driving charge in under four years.

Additionally, the driver had no valid driver’s licence despite having completed his most recent driving suspension on Jan. 6.

The AbbyPD is now recommending criminal charges of refusing to comply with a demand and failing to stop at an accident.

This year alone, police say, officers have caught 51 impaired drivers in Abbotsford.

“Clearly, current penalties are not strong enough to deter individuals from making the dangerous and criminal choice to drive impaired,” the AbbyPD said.

The department thanked the public for calling in suspected impaired drivers over the previous two weeks.