Driver hauling 36,000 kg of ammonia arrested for impaired driving near Timmins, Ont.

James Bay Ontario Provincial Police have charged four commercial vehicle drivers with impaired, including one who was hauling 36,000 kilograms of ammonia hydrate.

The arrests were part of a five-day highway safety enforcement initiative Sept. 9-13 in the Cochrane and Timmins area, the OPP said in a news release Thursday.

Police partnered with the Ministry of Transportation Ontario for the initiative. The driver hauling the ammonia was stopped at 9 a.m. at the MTO weigh scales on Highway 11 in Cochrane.

"The driver was arrested and transported to the Cochrane OPP detachment for further testing," police said.

The 67-year-year-old driver from Courtice, Ont., was charged with impaired and has an Oct. 22 court date in Cochrane.

A driver was arrested at 11 a.m. on Sept. 11. Police stopped "a pickup truck towing a two-axle utility trailer on Highway 101 West in Timmins."

The driver failed a roadside screening test and was arrested and taken to the Timmins police detachment for further testing. The 55-year-old driver from Sudbury was charged with impaired driving, driving without a valid permit and towing with an "improper means of attachment."

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A 40-year-old from Airdrie, Alta., was charged with impaired and having open liquor on Sept. 13. (OPP photo)

The accused was released from custody and is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice on Oct. 10 in Timmins.

As part of the same initiative, a 68-year-old driver from Regina was charged with impaired and having open liquor in the vehicle Sept. 11, and a 40-year-old from Airdrie, Alt., was charged with impaired and having open liquor on Sept. 13.

All four accused were also issued 90-day driver's licence suspensions and their vehicles (tractor units only) were impounded for seven days.