A Nova Scotia woman is facing impaired driving charges after she was found on the side of a highway outside of Halifax.
A driver phoned police around 8:30 p.m. Sunday after he noticed a car driving erratically on Highway 101 near Lower Sackville.
“All over the highway, going real low speeds, and then up to anywhere we heard between 10 kilometres and 80 kilometres per hour, which, for a 100-series highway, is definitely not the norm,” says Halifax District RCMP Cpl. Scott MacRae.
Police found a car nudged up against a guardrail under an overpass when they arrived on the scene. A woman, who appeared to be intoxicated, was behind the wheel.
They also found 21 empty liquor bottles inside the vehicle.
“In this case, one of the officers did comment that this lady was heavily intoxicated, which of course, we cannot have behind the wheel on our roadways, and it just makes it a dangerous situation for everyone,” says MacRae.
The woman was arrested and spent the night in police custody.
Her licence will be suspended for 90 days, starting a week from today.
The president of the Halifax chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving hopes the incident will serve as a reminder for holiday partygoers not to drink and drive.
“Sadly, I’m not surprised,” says Anissa Aldridge. “We need to keep this conversation going that it’s just not OK to drive impaired.”
Aldridge says it’s always important to arrange for a safe drive home after a night out, but she says it’s especially important this time of year.
“We want people to be out celebrating, enjoying the Christmas season, we’re just asking you to plan ahead and be safe,” she says. “Be responsible. Don’t drive while you’re impaired.”
The accused is due back in court at a later date to face charges of impaired driving and refusing a breathalyzer.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Garreth MacDonald
