A 63-year-old Barrie woman faces three charges, including impaired driving, after city police say her vehicle struck a house, rupturing a gas line, which prompted residents to evacuate their homes for a few hours on Sunday evening.
On June 2 at 7:11 p.m., city police, Barrie firefighters and Simcoe County paramedics responded to a crash on Grove Street East in the city’s north end, according to police.
Police say a mid-size pickup truck had driven into a driveway, struck the house and damaged a natural gas supply line.
When officers arrived, a minor evacuation of a “few homes” in the immediate area was underway.
Police say the residents who were forced to leave their homes while the gas leak was repaired were able to return just after 11 p.m.
When police spoke to the driver, officers noted "obvious signs of impairment" and she was placed under arrest.
Police said the woman was transported to police headquarters on Fairview Road, but refused to participate in the investigation which followed.
The driver has been charged with operation of a motor vehicle while impaired, failure or refusal to comply with demand from police and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle.
She was later released from custody and is scheduled to appear in Barrie court on June 17.
Her driver’s licence was also suspended for 90 days and her vehicle impounded for seven days.
One resident's natural gas service was temporarily interrupted as a result of the collision, an Enbridge Gas representative told BarrieToday this morning.
The company says it "safely completed repairs" and the customer’s natural gas service was restored at approximately 10:30 p.m.
