Man fined for driving truck off bridge while impaired

A man who drove his pickup truck off a railway bridge and into a body of water near Erickson received a $2,000 fine and a one-year driving prohibition on Monday.

Jamine Hadley, 36, pleaded guilty to impaired driving in Brandon provincial court.

The Crown asked the court to impose a $3,000 fine and a two-year driving prohibition, while defence argued for a fine in the range of $1,500 to $2,000 and a one-year driving prohibition.

Crown attorney Nikki Boggs detailed the facts behind Hadley’s guilty plea.

On June 3, 2024, Yellowhead RCMP received a report from a woman, who said there had possibly been an incident between one of her family members and Hadley. She said drugs and alcohol may be involved and that Hadley was driving on Road 102 North in a silver Toyota Tacoma.

Officers began patrolling, and while in the area of Highway 10, just north of Erickson, they received a dispatch that there was a man on a nearby bridge who was “covered in blood, is wet and appears to be agitated and erratic,” Boggs said.

When police arrived, the man identified himself as Jamine Hadley.

“It’s at that point he just spontaneously tells the officers that he drove his Toyota Tacoma into the water and … he was screaming for help and that nobody stopped,” Boggs said.

A bystander, who had stopped before police arrived, told police the man had admitted he was driving.

“There is a defunct, what would have been a CN track bridge just west of that … It was often used, as I understand, by the RCMP as an ATV track,” Boggs said. “So, it is a bridge that would fit a vehicle, but it was definitely not made for driving a vehicle … That’s essentially where he had driven his vehicle off of.”

Boggs said the vehicle was completely submerged in the water and ultimately written off.

Emergency medical services also responded and began treating Hadley, as he had a large cut on his arm that was bleeding. Officers noted the man’s erratic behaviour, an odour of alcohol on his breath and bloodshot eyes.

EMS transported Hadley to the Brandon Regional Health Centre, and police obtained a sample of his blood.

The sample showed Hadley had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.104 per cent — the legal limit is 0.08 —along with a number of non-prescription drugs and a small amount of cocaine and THC in his blood.

Boggs said if Hadley was convicted after trial, the Crown would likely have asked for time in custody, but recognized his guilty plea, that he was the only one in the vehicle and the “traumatic” circumstances.

“He obviously had gone through quite a traumatic experience with his vehicle being completely submerged and struggling to get out. So, we are recognizing that.”

However, she said a lengthier driving prohibition of two years is needed to give him a “daily reminder about the serious consequences of driving while impaired.”

Defence lawyer Bob Harrison said his client was abusing alcohol, cocaine and marijuana at the time but has since gone to treatment on two occasions. Hadley has been sober for 171 days, court heard.

“I asked him if he feels better. He says much, much better. He’s much happier,” Harrison said.

Harrison said Hadley lost his licence after his offence, which he pointed out was roughly 20 months ago. He said Hadley should get the minimum driving prohibition based on the facts that were presented in court, adding that Hadley wasn’t driving on a busy highway.

Judge Robert Heinrichs said even though it was a single-vehicle accident, the circumstances are troubling and compounded by the fact that Hadley has a similar conviction on his criminal record.

Given the lengthy amount of time Hadley has spent without a licence, the judge said he was willing to agree to a one-year driving prohibition and set the fine at $2,000 plus surcharges, bringing the total to roughly $2,600.

He has two years to pay the fine.

» sanderson@brandonsun.com