Friday, January 24, 2003

SUSPENDED DRIVER LOSES CAR
Goulais River, Ont.

A 21-year-old Sault man has lost his car for 45 days as a result of driving while suspended. Yesterday morning, O.P.P. stopped a car on highway 552 in Goulais River and discovered that the driver was disqualified from driving under the Criminal Code.

He was arrested and charged and his vehicle impounded for at least 45 days. Under the vehicle impoundment program, anyone in Ontario that is found driving with a licence that has been suspended for a Criminal Code offence shall have the vehicle impounded for at least 45 days. It doesn't matter who owns the vehicle. It is up to the vehicle owner to make sure the driver has a valid driver's licence.

In the Sault area the two nearest impounds are in Sudbury and Thunder Bay. As a result of yesterday's stop, the vehicle is on its way to Sudbury. The owner is responsible for the towing charges and administration fees before the vehicle is released.

In addition to the impoundment, 21-year-old Jason Hughes of Sault Ste. Marie now faces charges of driving while disqualified contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada. He will appear in court in February.


FIRE DESTROYS TACTOR TRAILER
Searchmont, Ont.

A driver escaped injury yesterday after the truck he was driving caught fire and was totally destroyed.

At about 5:30 yesterday afternoon, the driver was hauling a load of logs on Whitman Dam Road near Searchmont. He had just made it to the top of a hill when he noticed smoke coming out of the engine compartment. He stopped and tried to put the fire out with an extinguisher but was not successful. The cab was totally destroyed.

A front-end loader working in the area was able to dump enough snow on the truck so the load of logs did not catch fire.


BREAK AND ENTER INTO TRAILER
Haviland Lake, Goulais River

A camp on Haviland Lake in the Goulais River area has been entered and vandalized during the past week.

The culprits entered the camp and damaged the wood stove and broke some of the windows. Several items were stolen. Police are investigating.