Quinte West man pleads guilty to careless driving

By Bevan Hamilton

BELLEVILLE – A Quinte West man pleaded guilty Thursday to charges of careless driving and committing mischief  in connection with a night of reckless driving – including on someone else’s property.

The man was charged by the Central Hastings OPP after the incident on Hamilton Road last July. He got into an argument with a passenger in his vehicle, loudly ordered the passenger out, and drove onto some private property, causing damage to it in the process, Ontario Court heard.

He was originally facing a charge of dangerous driving, which could have resulted in up to five years in prison if he had been convicted. However, Judge Stephen Hunter dismissed that charge because Waite pleaded guilty to the two lesser charges.

Hunter ordered the man to pay a fine of $400 on the careless-driving charge, plus $500 restitution for the property damage. He also placed him on a year’s probation and prohibited him from driving, except for going to and from work, or for work purposes, for a year.

Any violations of the sentence will result in a minimum 30-day jail sentence.