A Michigan man who was over the limit made a wrong turn near the Blue Water Bridge

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A Sarnia judge recently criticized a driver from Michigan who mistakenly drove into Canada’s customs office on the Blue Water Bridge while impaired.

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“When someone drinks and drives at a major international crossing like this and endangers border patrol agents as well as other bridge users because of their extremely bad judgment, that’s a real concern for the court,” Judge Mark Poland said. .

Lambton OPP, who issued a news release about the incident, said Keith Ozbun, 35, of Harrison Township, Michigan, made a wrong turn and drove into Canada on the two-lane bridge on May 6 shortly before 1:30 a.m. Canadian Border Patrol agents watched as a brown Cadillac sped toward their booths.

“They were afraid he was going to drive through the barrier,” Assistant Crown Prosecutor Amir Hage said.

After the stop, Ozbun admitted to border guards that he had been drinking alcoholic beverages. He failed a road sobriety test, was arrested and Lambton OPP officers were called to take him into custody.

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At headquarters in Petrolia, two tests taken about three hours later showed he still had 160 milligrams of alcohol in 100 milliliters of blood, twice the legal limit of 80 milligrams.

“These were high figures, and they occurred in a rather disturbing context,” Poland said.

Ozbun was initially charged with two counts of impaired driving and recently pleaded guilty to one count of driving two hours over the limit. He was fined $2,000 and banned from driving in Canada for one year. Poland warned him that there would likely be a reciprocal ban in the US, although the rules differ from state to state.

He also warned him that most people who break the rules and drive when it’s illegal to do so end up in jail.

After Ozbun’s arrest, Lambton OPP released four more news reports about similar incidents on the Blue Water Bridge. The 43-year-old Kamlachi resident was allegedly twice over the limit on his way home from the US in May; A 38-year-old man from Hicksville, New York, and a 60-year-old man from Fort Gratiot, Michigan, were both allegedly injured in separate incidents in July; and last week, a 40-year-old Chesterfield, Michigan man was also injured, police said.

The eastern span of the bridge connecting Port Huron, Michigan, to Sarnia’s neighboring town of Point Edward, reopened last month after being closed since the end of May for rehabilitation work.

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