WROXETER – Huron County OPP have charged a Palmerston resident with several criminal offences after a fail to stop on Church Street in Wroxeter on Jan. 10.
According to a media release from the OPP, an officer was conducting patrols in Wroxeter that morning and initiated a traffic stop on a minivan for a Highway Traffic Act violation around 10:15 a.m.
Police say the driver of the Dodge Caravan failed to stop for police and sped away at a high rate of speed.
“The driver then turned around and drove directly at the police officer who was parked with the emergency lights activated,” reads the release. “The officer had to take evasive action to avoid being hit by the minivan driver.”
Additional officers attended the scene and located the vehicle and driver a short time later. Police say evidence of drug use was found at the scene, and that they “discovered that the male driver displayed signs of impairment by drug.”
The driver was arrested for further assessment by an OPP drug recognition expert at the Wellington County OPP detachment. The vehicle was towed and impounded for seven days.
The accused, 35-year-old Andrew Doupe of Palmerston, has been charged with:
- operation while impaired – alcohol and drugs;
- flight from peace officer;
- dangerous operation;
- possession of a Schedule I substance – methamphetamine; and
- fail to comply with probation order.
Doupe has also been charged with Highway Traffic Act offences, including driving while under suspension and driving with a dirty licence plate.
Doupe has since been released from custody with a court appearance scheduled for Feb. 23 in Goderich.
