Concerned citizens took it upon themselves to detain a suspected impaired driver on Highway 400 Friday evening.
Ontario Provincial Police began receiving calls around 7:30 p.m. that a small brown SUV was driving in a dangerous fashion and had caused several collisions with other vehicles while travelling northbound on Highway 400 in Georgian Bay Township.
Police say the suspect pulled his heavily damaged vehicle to the side of the highway near the off-ramp of White's Falls Road, and the driver, who appeared intoxicated, got out of the vehicle and was stopping traffic.
" Concerned citizens, who had stopped their vehicles, exited and physically detained the suspect to prevent him from harming himself or others. Police arrived on scene to find a group of people holding the driver to the ground," police said in a news release on Sunday.
During the incident, police say an assisting motorist was assaulted by the suspect using a tire wrench.
The driver was arrested by officers and taken to the detachment were he refused to provide a breath sample. During the investigation, the accused allegedly assaulted and threatened a police officer.
"Further investigation revealed that the accused did not have consent to be operating the motor vehicle being driven. In addition, the accused was bound by a probation order at the time of the incident," police said.
A 29-year-old Tay Township man was charged with the following:
* Impaired Operation of a Motor Vehicle
* Dangerous Operation of a Motor Vehicle
* Refuse to Comply with Breath Demand
* Take Motor Vehicle without Consent
* Assault with a Weapon
* Utter Threat to Cause Death x 2
* Assault Peace Officer
* Fail to Comply with Probation Order
The accused was held for a bail hearing on Monday.
The accused has had his driver's licence suspended for 90 days, and his vehicle has been impounded for seven days.
