Driver, 85, allegedly clocked on Highway 407 doing 161 km/h
UNNATI GANDHI
January 3, 2008
An 85-year-old man became the oldest person to be charged under provincial street-racing legislation when he was caught allegedly driving at 161 kilometres an hour.
The man was eastbound on Highway 407 at Pine Valley Drive yesterday morning in his Oldsmobile Intrigue when he sped past a fully marked OPP cruiser, Sergeant Cam Woolley said.
The officer managed to drive up alongside him and signal for him to slow down, but he didn't see her, Sgt. Woolley said.
The officer then got caught behind another vehicle and the man "actually accelerated and began changing lanes to ... maintain his speed. He was cutting through traffic making lane changes from left to right, and by Keele Street he was doing 161."
Road conditions were icy. "It's a recipe for disaster at those kinds of speeds," Sgt. Woolley said.
When the man was finally pulled over, his initial reaction was, "God damn," Sgt. Woolley said. The man, who lives in Thornhill, said he was on his way to the bank and then to go shopping.
He has been charged under new racing legislation that was passed last summer, and his vehicle has been impounded. The law, which changes the definition of street racing to include solo drivers who exceed the posted speed limit by 50 km/h, gives police the power to impound the driver's vehicle for seven days, issue a seven-day licence suspension, and, if the driver is found guilty in court, impose a minimum fine of $2,000.
