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.
![](https://media.darpanmagazine.com/library/uploads/news/content/arested1#</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
at his trial, o'neill took issue with the application of a section of the criminal code that assumes that someone in the driver's seat is deemed to have care or control of the vehicle unless they can show they had no intention of setting the vehicle in motion.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
the trial judge sided with the prosecution that the presumption applied — and that he had failed to rebut it.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
on his initial appeal, he argued his evidence could have supported the conclusion that he had no intention to drive until he had sobered up. the summary appeal judge rejected his view that his intention to drive later did not automatically rebut the legal presumption that he had care and control of the truck when he was found drunk.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
in declining to hear the case, the appeal court noted leave to challenge a decision on a question of law and is granted sparingly and that his grounds were weak.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
"(o'neill) did not satisfy the trial judge that it was his intention to leave the vehicle and to walk to some unidentified place for breakfast," the appeal court said.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
"(his) evidence on this point was ambiguous at best, and he has identified no palpable and overriding error in the trial judge's assessment of that evidence."</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
.jpg)
MORE National ARTICLES
Civil-rights Groups Endorse Appeal Into Whether Police Use Covert Cell Spy Tech
The device, which operates as a dragnet interceptor, has also been referred to as a King Fisher, an IMSI catcher and a cell-site simulator.
Civil-rights Groups Endorse Appeal Into Whether Police Use Covert Cell Spy Tech
Feds Taking Into Account Possibility Bombardier May Outsource Jobs
This is part of the business case evaluation," Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bainssaid after giving a speech to the Toronto Region Board of Trade
Feds Taking Into Account Possibility Bombardier May Outsource Jobs
Education Minister Insists Teacher Deals Are 'Net Zero' Despite Extra $300Million Cost
Ontario's Liberal government insisted Wednesday that despite a $300-million price tag to set up new benefit trusts for teachers, their recent contracts are "net zero."
Education Minister Insists Teacher Deals Are 'Net Zero' Despite Extra $300Million Cost
Justin Trudeau Extols Virtues Of Bombardier Cseries As Government Ponders Aid
Trudeau was in Toronto, where he called the CSeries passenger jet "an exceptional airplane" that shows off Canada's innovation and manufacturing skills to the world.
Justin Trudeau Extols Virtues Of Bombardier Cseries As Government Ponders Aid
Oil Patch Woes Give Federal Liberals Cold Feet On Cutting Fossil Fuel Subsidies
Now is not the time to phase out fossil fuel subsidies, Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr said Wednesday, despite what a Liberal cabinet colleague is billing as the greenest federal budget ever.
Oil Patch Woes Give Federal Liberals Cold Feet On Cutting Fossil Fuel Subsidies
Missing Person File Still Open 25 Years After Four-Year-Old Boy's Disappearance
When Crystal Dunahee turned around moments later after taking Michael's little sister out of her stroller, he was gone.