Impaired motorcyclist injured in August crash gets $1,800 fine

A young motorcyclist, who was injured when he collided with a vehicle on Airport Road last summer, pleaded guilty Monday to impaired driving.

Bailey Yeo, 20, was fined $1,800 and prohibited from driving for 12 months.

Police were dispatched to the collision at 7:45 p.m. on Aug. 3, Ontario Court Justice Melanie Dunn was told.

Paramedics, who transported Yeo to hospital, and witnesses at the scene indicated they could smell alcohol on the accused, assistant Crown attorney Marie-Eve Talbot said.

He told them he had been drinking and admitted consuming tequila 30 minutes before the incident, she said.

Following his treatment, the accused recorded breath test readings of 180 and 170 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.

Talbot called for a $2,000 monetary penalty, 12 months probation and a year-long driving prohibition.

Duty counsel Gary Knox proposed the $1,800 fine and the prohibition, but opposed probation, noting the young man has no related criminal record.

"He knows he has made a bad mistake and he was lucky," the lawyer said. "He was the person on the motorcycle and the most likely to get hurt."

Knox noted the driving was bad and the readings high, but said this rarely draws probation. 

Dunn described the accident and the level of the breath test readings aggravating.

"You suffered consequences - injuries and loss of your motorcycle," she told Yeo.

The judge opted for the lower fine because of the accused's economic situation and said no to a period of probation.

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