“Stop it!! JUST STOP IT!! I don’t even know what to say anymore,” implored Jennifer Neville-Lake, whose three children and father were killed by an impaired driver, in the wake of York Regional Police's news release today highlighting impaired-related driving charges laid in the last week.
“I spent this past weekend honouring my dead kids and dad instead of enjoying life as their mom with them … all because of impaired drivers. Drunk driving kills. I can’t even,” Neville-Lake commented on her Twitter account, which was then retweeted by York Regional Police to its 156,504 followers.
Neville-Lake had only recently visited the site of the collision in Vaughan in which her children — Daniel, 9, Harrison, 5, and Milagros, 2 — and 65-year-old father were killed in 2015 by a convicted impaired driver currently serving 10 years.
Earlier today, York police had posted a video from one of its helicopters showing the arrest of a driver charged with impaired who stumbled from his car following a two-vehicle collision near Elgin Mills Road, west of Ninth Line, in Whitchurch Stouffville April 28, as well as the list of names of 24 drivers charged with with impaired-related offences last week.
Every week since York Regional Police announced last December it would begin publishing the names of every person charged with impaired driving-related offences in an effort to “curb a distressing trend”, the number of drivers charged has rarely dipped below double digits.
“It’s clear that something has to change,” York Regional Police Chief Eric Jolliffe said at the time. “Innocent lives are put at risk every day by this irresponsible and criminal behaviour. We are not giving up.”
Last year alone, more than 1,600 impaired-related criminal driving charges were laid by the force.
Also today, the federal government announced a $17-million fund over five years to help front-line officers keep Ontario’s roads safe from drivers impaired by drug and alcohol.
The Government of Canada is providing law enforcement access to new technologies, additional resources and the training they need to detect and prosecute drivers impaired by drugs or alcohol, according to a news release.
Funding will also be used to develop standardized data collection and reporting practices that will be used to analyze trends, identify gaps and provide an accurate picture of drug-impaired driving in the province, and across Canada.
Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction Bill Blair also unveiled the next phase of the Government of Canada’s Don’t Drive High public awareness campaign to emphasize the risks associated with driving under the influence of cannabis and other drugs. Canadians will see the ads in public spaces, on social media, television and in movie theatres.
“Far too many Canadians continue to risk their lives and the lives of others by driving while impaired by cannabis or other drugs. The measures we are taking gives officers the tools, training and resources they need to detect impaired drivers, get them off our roads and keep our communities safe. The combination of Canada’s strict new impaired driving legislation and these new tools for frontline law enforcement mean that anyone who drives impaired will be caught and face serious legal consequences. Don’t drive high,” Blair said in the news release.
Impaired driving remains the No. 1 cause of criminal death in Canada, costing hundreds of lives and thousands of preventable injuries each year.
