A Good Samaritan is being credited for alerting Barrie police to a suspected impaired driver last week.
Police say a potential tragedy may have been averted after a concerned community member contacted police to report what appeared to be a person passed out in the driver’s seat of a vehicle in a parking lot on Anne Street South, south of Tiffin Street.
After several attempts, police say officers were eventually able to wake the man, but quickly realized he was impaired by drugs.
The man was subsequently arrested for impaired driving and taken to Barrie Police Headquarters on Fairview Road for further investigation, at which time a drug recognition evaluator determined the man, who had just turned 51 years old that day, was allegedly impaired by drugs.
Police say officers also seized suspected cocaine that was found in the man's possession and in the car at the time of his arrest.
In addition to the impaired driving charge, the Barrie resident was also charged with possession of a Schedule I substance (cocaine), trafficking of a Schedule I substance (cocaine) and failure to comply with a probation order.
He is scheduled to appear in the Ontario Court of Justice in Barrie on Jan. 27, 2025.
