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SARNIA – A Lambton County man who nearly died after crashing an ATV while impaired has been sentenced to five months in jail.
Steven Saunders, 62, was driving an ATV on Douglas Street in the rural community of Wilkesport around 6 p.m. on Sept. 1, 2023, when one of the front wheels locked up. Saunders, who wasn’t wearing a helmet, cartwheeled over the top of the machine and hit his head on pavement. The ATV landed about 20 metres away.
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“Witnesses indicated that they initially suspected that Mr. Saunders was dead as he was unconscious for approximately three to five minutes,” assistant Crown attorney Aniko Coughlan told the court.
Witnesses who helped Saunders until paramedics arrived could smell alcohol. Blood samples were taken later that night while he was in Sarnia’s hospital and tests showed he had 203 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood – nearly three times the legal limit of 80 milligrams.
A suspended driver at the time, Saunders was charged with impaired driving and prohibited driving. He was on life support in hospital as he recovered from a broken collarbone, punctured lung and punctured ribs.
“He’s lucky to be here,” defence lawyer James Guggisberg said as his client recently pleaded guilty to charges Lambton OPP laid in September.
Guggisberg noted his client has one of the longest driving-related records he’s seen. It includes nine impaired driving-related convictions and he’s previously served nine months in jail.
Guggisberg asked for four months this time, the minimum, while Coughlan argued for 11. Justice Mark Poland settled on five months and included a probation order meant to help Saunders in his struggle with alcoholism.
Saunders went to rehab and was sober for about 13 years before a setback in 2023, leading up to the ATV crash.
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