Manitoba man convicted of drunk driving despite plan to 'sleep it off' after getting drunk in truck

A Manitoba man who admits to getting drunk and passing out behind the wheel of his parked truck has been convicted of impaired driving despite arguing he had planned to sleep it off in his driver's seat before hitting the road.

Jeffrey Strykowsky was charged with having care orcontrol of a motor vehicle while his ability was impaired by alcohol and while his blood alcohol level was above the legal limit after police found him slumped over in his 1984 Ford truck on the side of a dirt road in the RM of St. Clements April 26, 2018.

During his trial, arresting officers testified they saw a case of beer in Strykowsky's truck and an empty can on the seat beside him as they approached the driver's side door around 9 p.m.

Strykowsky doesn't deny he'd been drinking that night.

The officers say he told them he drank 12 cans of Labatt's Extra Dry in his truckand had been napping since 7 p.m. He told police he'd had his last drink around 2 or 3 p.m.

The officers testified Strykowsky had the smell of alcohol on his breath, slurred when he spoke, and nearly fell over when he got out of the truck.

"I know I'm drunk. You know I'm drunk. Why are we here?" he asked officers as they arrested him and asked him for a breath sample, according to court documents.

At the Selkirk RCMP detachment Strykowsky provided two breath samples of over twice the legal limit.

"I'm impaired, right Kyle?" police say Strykowskyasked the officer conducting the breath test.

Truck overheated

At trial Strykowsky argued he'd had no intention of driving oncehe'd started drinking.

He told court he'd gotten into a fight with a friend who was staying with him earlier that day and stormed off in his truck. He said he bought a case of beer and was on his way to another friend's house to drink them, when his truck overheated about 10 minutes from his destination.

Strykowskytestified that he's owned the truck for a number of years and it often overheats. He said the truck needs to be shut off and let sit to cool off for as much as six hours before it will start again.

So he decided to pull over and "crack open the case,"he told the court.

He wanted to "cool off and drink beer" according to the court documents, but "one led to another" and Strykowsky ended up passing out, he told provincial court judge Cynthia Devine at trial.

Strykowsky testified that he'd had "a few too many" but didn't think he was as drunk as police told court he had been.

He said he planned to drink in the truck and then "sleep it off"in the vehicle until the morning, telling arresting officers his only mistake had been leaving his keys in the ignition.

Judge's decision

At issue, wrote Devine in her verdict delivered April 10, was whether or not Strykowsky had care and control of the truck at the time police found him.

Strykowsky told court heturned off his truck and engaged the emergency brake when he started drinking.

He told Devinestarting the truck isn't easy he testified it takes eight separate steps to get the vehicle running and it couldn't have beenput into motion by accident.

While Devine said she didn't think Strykowsky had intended to drink 12 beers and drive that day, she also didn't believe he'd planned to wait until morning before driving once it happened.

"I expect that the plan over time became as blurry as Mr. Strykowsky's sobriety,"wrote Devine.

"It is more plausible that Mr. Strykowsky intended to wait until it was safe to drive the truck again and continue on to his friend's house, only 10 minutes away on a direct road. That is why his keys remained in the ignition.

"I do not believe Mr. Strykowsky that he did not intend to drive again that night, nor that he might change his mind. Nor does his evidence in that regard raise a reasonable doubt."

A call to Strykowsky's lawyer to find out if he plans to appeal the decision was not returned.