Former Woodstock, Ont., mayor charged with impaired driving

The former mayor of Woodstock, Trevor Birtch has been charged with impaired driving and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, following a two-vehicle crash Monday evening.

Emergency crews were called to thecrash on the 31st Line in Zorra Township just north of Ingersoll at 6:20 p.m, said Oxford Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).

The driver of the other vehicle was taken to a local hospital by EMS with minor injuries.

Birtchwas previously charged with assault and multiple counts of sexual assault in February 2022. Thosecharges stem from allegations made between Feb. 14 and Dec. 13, 2021.

Birtch was later charged with three new counts of sexual assault against a different woman in April 2022.Thosecharges date back to incidents that allegedly happened between January 2017 and April2022.

The charges against Birtch have not yet been proven in court.

Birtch, who was first elected as Woodstock's mayor in 2014,stepped down on April 22, 2022 after serving two terms.He is set to appear in court on May 24, 2024 for the sexual assault charges.

CBC News has reached out to Birtch for a comment but has not yet heard back. This story will be updated ifa response has beenreceived.

Birch is scheduled to appear at a Woodstock court in relation to the impaired driving charges on Dec. 12.