Disqualified driver gets 30 days in jail

Police nabbed a disqualified driver as he sped along the highway north of Sault Ste. Marie in the early morning hours of Sept. 21, a judge heard Monday.

An Ontario Provincial Police officer clocked William Gregory travelling 118 kilometres per hour in an 80-kilometre zone at 3:28 a.m. and stopped the vehicle, Crown attorney Kelly Weeks said.

He couldn't produce any identification, but indicated he was a suspended driver and was just trying to get his wife home, the prosecutor said.

Gregory, 46, pleaded guilty to operating a vehicle while disqualified.

Ontario Court Justice John Kukurin sentenced him to a 30-day jail term, which will be served on weekends so Gregory can keep his job.

Kukurin also imposed a 12-month driving prohibition, which will run consecutive to the ban already in effect.

"Make sure you have the right to drive before you get back on the road again,"  he warned Gregory.

Also in court Monday, a drinking driver who struck a pole on Trunk Road was fined $1,200 and prohibited from getting behind the wheel for a year.

Shannon Greco, 37, pleaded guilty to operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol level exceeding 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 milliliters of blood.

Police were contacted just before 3 a.m. on March 21 and found a woman and a man walking along the street, assistant Crown attorney Nancy Komsa said.

Both had facial injuries, and Greco said they were going to her house on Capp Avenue to call police because she couldn't find her cell phone.

Greco told the officer she'd swerved because a dog ran across the road and she hit the pole, Komsa said.

There was considerable damage to the truck including a large hole in the windshield.

Greco failed a roadside breath test and the couple were taken to hospital for treatment of their injuries.

She subsequently recorded breathalyzer readings of 134 and 115 milligrams of alcohol in 100 milliliters of blood.

Komsa said the $1,200 fine reflects the readings and the fact that an accident had occurred.

Driving is a privilege and she had put herself and others at risk, Kukurin told Greco when he imposed sentence.

Greco must also pay a 25 percent victim surcharge.