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
B.C.'s Beetle-Gnawed, Carbon Spewing Forests Recovering Quickly Says Researcher
The research from the U-Vic-led Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions says global warming is making B.C. forests grow faster and the trees are taking in more carbon dioxide, the gas associated with the globe's steadily climbing temperatures.
B.C.'s Beetle-Gnawed, Carbon Spewing Forests Recovering Quickly Says Researcher
No Fooling Around: Burnaby Scientists Use Sex, Food, Sound To Lure Rats In Superior Trap
A team at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C., has developed a rat trap that combines synthetic sex pheromones, food scents and baby rat sounds to lure rodents to their deaths.
No Fooling Around: Burnaby Scientists Use Sex, Food, Sound To Lure Rats In Superior Trap
Halifax Police Say Arrest Made In Easter Weekend Death Of Yoga Instructor Kristin Elizabeth
Police say they have made an arrest in connection with the homicide death of a well-known Halifax-area yoga instructor.
Halifax Police Say Arrest Made In Easter Weekend Death Of Yoga Instructor Kristin Elizabeth
Murder Accused Escapes From Delhi Police Custody
An undertrial in a murder case escaped from Delhi Police custody here on Monday while being taken to Haryana for court appearance, an officer said.
Murder Accused Escapes From Delhi Police Custody
After Emotional, Divisive Leadership Vote, NDP Mps To Get Back To Work In Ottawa
New Democrat MPs will return to the House of Commons today after an emotional and divisive weekend that ended up costing Tom Mulcair his job as leader.
After Emotional, Divisive Leadership Vote, NDP Mps To Get Back To Work In Ottawa
Toronto Pastor-Activist Pleads Not Guilty To Nova Scotia Sex Assault Charge
KENTVILLE, N.S. — A prominent Toronto pastor has pleaded not guilty to decades-old sex-crime allegations in Nova Scotia.