Brampton accessibility bus driver charged with impaired driving
Posted August 25, 2017 10:24 pm.
Last Updated August 25, 2017 11:35 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A 56-year-old Brampton accessibility bus driver is under arrest and police credit the actions of a concerned eyewitness for reporting the driver’s erratic behaviour on the roads.
Peel Regional Police say they received a call just after 5 p.m. on Friday from a motorist complaining of a possible drunk driver.
The eyewitness who called police tells CityNews he was driving east on Queen Street in Brampton when he saw the Peel Region accessibility transportation vehicle swerving across the roadway. As they came to a stop at a traffic light, he approached the driver to see if everything was alright.
“At first, I didn’t think of a driver being intoxicated, I thought, this guy is in distress, something’s wrong, a heart attack maybe,” said Mike Gatt. “But noticing he was drunk, I thought for sure he was going to kill somebody.”
Gatt says he called 911 and proceeded to follow the bus for several kilometres as it continued to swerve across the roadway, narrowly hitting several parked cars and avoiding a collision with a parked transport truck.
Police eventually caught up with the TransHelp bus in the Airport Road and Queen Street area. The driver was asked to take a sobriety field test and then arrested for impaired driving.
Police say there was a female passenger on board the vehicle at the time of the incident. CityNews spoke with the mother of the woman, who said she was not injured and is in good spirits.
Sergio Velastegui is facing a charge of impaired operation of a motor vehicle and excess blood alcohol.
In an email statement to CityNews, TransHelp says it is aware that one of their drivers was arrested for impaired driving while operating one of its regional vehicles. The employee has been suspended pending a full investigation.
