J.D. Potié
MUNCIPALITY OF PONTIAC
Sept. 17-18, 2019
Shortly before 6 a.m. on Sept. 17, police pulled over a 39-year-old speed racer rolling at nearly . . .
70 km/h over the speed limit.
According to MRC des Collines Police spokesperson Sgt. Martin Fournel, officers were doing their routine morning radar duty when they caught the culprit going 139 km/h in a 70 km/h zone, near the end of the four-lane portion of Hwy. 148 heading eastbound.
Although he wasn’t arrested, police slapped the perpetrator with a hefty $1,303 fine for excessive speeding, took away 14 demerit points, suspended his license for 30 days and towed his vehicle.
In the days following the incident, the culprit took to social media to voice his anger in a curse-littered statement that Fournel said was on the verge of a threat to his fellow officers.
Fournel added that officers might even give the culprit an additional $496 ticket because it’s illegal to swear at a police officer, according to municipal bylaw – even if it’s online.
“Whatever you put on the internet, there’s no privacy,” he said. “It’s public. If this can help other people think about what they post online, that’s the goal.”
On Sept. 18, police arrested a 30-year-old man from Fort Coulonge for allegedly giving officers a false piece of identity after getting stopped for driving over 40 km/h above the speed limit.
At around 5:40 a.m., near Wiggins Road in Quyon, police nabbed the culprit after catching him on their radar gun rolling at 132 km/h in a 90 km/h zone.
When they finally caught up to the car, police say the driver presented a false identity before they could positively identify him, only to find out that he didn’t have a valid driver’s license in the first place.
According to Fournel, the driver was arrested on the spot and had his license suspended and his vehicle seized for 30 days.
He also received six fines totaling $1,913, which included speeding, obstruction and assumption of person, driving without a valid driver’s license, failing to show registration and driving without a passenger with an official driver’s license.
Police released the culprit on site and submitted the file for criminal charges, Fournel said.
“He probably will be charged for a criminal offence,” Fournel said.
With similar incidents happening on back-to-back days, Fournel stressed the importance of following the speed limit and planning ahead when leaving for work to arrive on time and avoid breaking the law.
“People need to learn to be more aware of their schedules,” he said. “If you have to drive to go to work, yes you can be late sometimes but you need to adjust your schedule to leave a wee bit earlier and drive the speed limit instead of driving like that.”
