MANITOULIN ISLAND – A novice driver was arrested yesterday on charges of impaired driving and possession of cocaine following a traffic complaint on Manitoulin Island.
Shortly after 10 p.m., the Manitoulin Ontario Provincial Police responded to a report of a possible impaired driver on Highway 540.
Police patrolled the area and located a vehicle on Mnaawnkwad Drive in M'Chigeeng First Nation, according to an OPP news release.
Police conducted a traffic stop and upon speaking with the driver, determined the driver had consumed alcohol.
The driver was arrested and transported to the OPP detachment for further testing, police said.
Dante Abotossaway, 24, from Little Current has been charged with:
- Novice driver - B.A.C. above zero
- Driving motor vehicle with liquor readily available
- Class G1 licence holder - accompanying driver B.A.C. .05 or above
- Operation while impaired - alcohol and drugs
- Operation while impaired - blood alcohol concentration (80 plus)
- Possession of a schedule I substance - cocaine
The accused is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Gore Bay on May 21.
The driver was issued a 90-day driver's licence suspension and the vehicle was impounded for seven days, police said.
None of the allegations have been tested in court and Abotossaway is considered innocent unless proven guilty.