Police use a spike belt to stop impaired driver

OPP say they needed to use a spike belt on Highway 17 to stop an impaired driver.

On November 8 at 5:15 a.m., the North Bay OPP was told about a vehicle travelling east from the Sudbury area that had failed to stop for Sudbury city police officers.

An officer from West Nipissing OPP saw the vehicle and followed it toward North Bay. 

Officers deployed spike belts on Highway 17 in Nipissing First Nation and successfully stopped the vehicle. The driver was arrested at the scene and brought back to the North Bay OPP for testing by a Drug Recognition Expert.

Caitlin Connolly, 28, of Richmond Hill, was charged with "Operation While Impaired."

Connolly was released on an appearance notice with a date to attend the Ontario Court of Justice on December 29. 

The vehicle was impounded for 7-days and the driver's licence was suspended for 90-days.

This incident marks 48 drivers charged under the criminal impaired driving laws in the North Bay OPP Detachment area in the year 2020. One-quarter of these charges were impaired by drug.