Bonavista RCMP conducts checkpoint, arrests drug impaired driver New Year’s Day

The RCMP set up a checkpoint along Route 230 on New Year’s Eve and checked more than 30 vehicles between Elliston and Little Catalina.

As many as 16 drivers were compelled to provide roadside breath samples, and no infractions were reported.

The following day, officers arrested a 35-year-old man for impaired operation after a report from a concerned citizen.

Just after 11:00 a.m. on New Year’s Day, Bonavista RCMP responded to a report from a passerby who spotted an unknown male, possibly unconscious or in distress, behind the wheel of a parked vehicle in Port Union.

Police located the vehicle and initiated a traffic stop. The driver showed signs of impairment and was found in possession of a controlled substance and contraband tobacco.

The man was arrested for impaired operation and transported to hospital in Bonavista for collection of a blood sample.

Police are now waiting on the results of the blood test to assess if charges of impaired operation are appropriate.