A truck driver is facing charges and has lost his job after police caught him smoking opium on the highway.
The incident happened on Friday, September 25th on Highway 401 in Ontario, Canada – Canada’s busiest highway.
According to CTV News, the 27-year-old truck driver was pulled over after police received a complaint that he was driving erratically. Once pulled over, police discovered that the man had been smoking opium while driving, resulting in an immediate driver’s license suspension.
Traffic complaint wb #Hwy401 late Friday near #Gananoque. #LeedsOPP officer found transport driver was smoking opium. Chgd with impaired by drug, dangerous driving, drug offences, truck offences AND #fired by the company on the spot! #ONHwys ^bd pic.twitter.com/U6DYUbcg3o
— OPP East Region (@OPP_ER) September 26, 2020
“Sure enough, he was smoking opium,” said Ontario Provincial Police spokesperson Bill Dickson to Freightwaves.
Because of the immediate license suspension, the officer then contacted the driver’s company, who fired him on the spot. The unnamed driver is now facing multiple drug and traffic charges.
Ontario police say that, while opium users are somewhat uncommon, impaired driving is not.
“Sadly, it’s not a truly isolated incident,” Dickson added.