After a night of drinking at The Crushed Can nightclub, Ajay Chawla thought he was sober enough to move his vehicle around the parking lot and possibly drive home.
However, he backed into another vehicle and caused minor damage to his car. Another patron saw the incident and called police, who arrested Chawla and charged him with impaired driving and having a blood alcohol content (BAC) level at or above the legal limit of 0.08.
In Moose Jaw provincial court recently, Chawla, 46, pleaded guilty to having a BAC level at or above the legal limit. He received a fine of $1,000 and was given a one-year driving prohibition. He will also have to go through Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) to get his licence back and take any courses SGI deems mandatory.
The Crown stayed the charge of impaired driving.
Chawla was at The Crushed Can around 2:20 a.m. on April 20 when the incident happened, explained Crown prosecutor Robbie Parker. He was attempting to reposition his car, but backed into another vehicle and caused slight damage to his automobile.
The owner of the other vehicle spoke to Chawla and concluded he was impaired, and called police. An officer arrived and also spoke to Chawla, who was standing by his vehicle and was waiting for a taxi, Parker continued. Chawla eventually provided two breath samples, which came back at .110 and .100, which were just above the legal limit.
Chawla, from Moose Jaw, was repositioning his car in the parking lot, and if it were not for the collision that caused minor damage, he would not have come to anyone’s attention, the Crown prosecutor noted. While his intention was to call a taxi, he was still operating a motor vehicle in an impaired manner.
Parker recommended the fine of $1,000 and a one-year driving ban.
“I made a bad decision. I got into a car and drove a few metres,” Chawla said to Judge Brian Henderickson. “I chose to go to the bar. I don’t (normally) drink. I have never been to a liquor store in the seven of eight years I have lived in this country … .
“I want to take responsibility for that.”
“This sounds like a (minor) fender-bender,” said Henderickson. However, that didn’t make the situation right or correct. He accepted the Crown’s recommendation since he thought it was appropriate for the situation.
Moose Jaw provincial court next meets on May 1.
