Drunk Driving Conviction Stands For Ontario Sleeping Man Found In Parked Truck

TORONTO — A drunk man found sleeping behind the wheel of his idling parked truck has lost his bid to take his impaired driving conviction to Ontario's top court.

 

In a decision Wednesday, the Ontario Court of Appeal rejected plans by Hugh O'Neill to argue he had only started the engine to keep warm and had no intention of driving.

 

O'Neill was found behind the wheel in the early hours of a December morning parked in a lot outside an industrial building in London, Ont. Court documents show a police officer had difficulty waking him. His blood-alcohol level was well in excess of the legal limit. He was convicted at trial. An initial appeal was dismissed.

 

O'Neill argued at trial that friends had driven him back to his truck after a night of drinking and he climbed in with the aim of sleeping until he was sober. He testified he had woken during the night, got out to relieve himself, and then got back in. At that point, he said, he had started the truck to keep warm and fell asleep again.

 

However, he insisted he planned to go get breakfast in the morning before driving to work.