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
$4 Billion Plan Opts For Frequency Over Speed In Windsor-Quebec City Region
OTTAWA — Via Rail will ask the federal government by year's end to climb aboard a plan to run new "high-frequency," electric-hybrid trains in the busy Windsor-Quebec City corridor, says the head of the Crown corporation.
$4 Billion Plan Opts For Frequency Over Speed In Windsor-Quebec City Region
Supreme Court Says Two Tough-on-Crime Laws Are Unconstitutional
OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that two federal laws from the previous Conservative government's tough-on-crime agenda are unconstitutional.
Supreme Court Says Two Tough-on-Crime Laws Are Unconstitutional
Manitoba Tory Leader Defends Spending One-Fifth Of His Time In Costa Rica
WINNIPEG — Manitoba's Progressive Conservative leader is defending spending one-fifth of his time as Opposition leader in Costa Rica.
Manitoba Tory Leader Defends Spending One-Fifth Of His Time In Costa Rica
Court Rejects Saskatchewan Man's Appeal Of Sentence In Fatal Drunk Driving Crash
Blaine Taypotat was given 9 1/2 years for killing 23-year-old Justin Knackstedt near Saskatoon in May 2013.
Court Rejects Saskatchewan Man's Appeal Of Sentence In Fatal Drunk Driving Crash
Crown Wants Accused Teen Shooter On Saskatchewan First Nation Sentenced As Adult
The teen, who is now 18, allegedly shot and killed two teenaged brothers and a teacher and a teacher's aide in the small Dene community of La Loche on Jan. 22.
Crown Wants Accused Teen Shooter On Saskatchewan First Nation Sentenced As Adult
Coroner's Jury Seeks Taser Review, Better Mental Health Services In Rural B.C.
KAMLOOPS, B.C. — A coroner's jury in Kamloops B.C., has concluded an inquest into the death of 18-year-old Jacob Setah by calling for better mental health services in rural communities.