Mr. De Cruz

The accused was convicted after trial of two counts of impaired driving causing bodily harm.

The accused drove aggressively into an intersection while impaired, striking an oncoming vehicle and causing serious injury to both the driver of that vehicle and the accused's own passenger.

The accused had a prior record for impaired driving offences and was operating a vehicle in violation of an Interlock restriction on his license.

The court imposed a custodial sentence of 12 months followed by two years probation and a 10-year driving prohibition, emphasizing that general deterrence is paramount in impaired driving cases involving significant injury.

The accused was charged with three counts of impaired driving causing bodily harm and three counts of operating a vehicle with blood alcohol concentration exceeding the legal limit where bodily harm was caused.

Two counts were dismissed at the close of the Crown's case due to lack of evidence of bodily harm.

The court found that the accused operated a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol and with a blood alcohol concentration of approximately 180 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood, more than twice the legal limit.

The collision was caused solely by the accused's impaired driving, including tailgating, failure to stop at a yellow light, and attempting to pass other vehicles at high speed through an intersection.

The accused was convicted on all remaining counts.