Ex-Leafs captain reeked of alcohol, officer testifies Published On Wed Feb 23
Former Leafs captain Rick Vaive leaves a Newmarket courthouse where he is on trial for impaired driving.
Jim Wilkes/TORONTO STAR
Jim Wilkes
Staff Reporter
Former Leafs captain Rick Vaive’s blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit when he was stopped in his pickup truck in 2009, a police officer told a Newmarket court Tuesday.
York Region Const. Carl Young testified Vaive reeked of a “very strong odour of alcohol” when he pulled him over on Highway 427.
Vaive, 51, is on trial for impaired driving in the July 14, 2009, incident. He has pleaded not guilty before Justice Anne-Marie Hourigan.
Young said he pulled over the former Leafs star after a man called 911 and reported seeing an individual stumbling and driving erratically at a plaza near Pine Valley Dr. and Highway 7 in Vaughan.
Young said he followed the truck on westbound Highway 407 and pulled it over at the ramp to southbound 427.
The officer said Vaive’s eyes were red, watery and bloodshot, and that he had a wet stain “in the crotch region” of his beige shorts.
He said Vaive told him he was returning from a charity golf tournament and had “a beer,” but had been drinking the night before with friends.
Vaive, immaculately dressed in a dark suit with a double-blue tie, sat impassively as a video of him being booked at a Rutherford Rd. police station was played for the court. He occasionally twisted a large diamond-encrusted ring with a maple leaf formed from diamonds at its centre.
Court heard earlier from Fernando Bernardo, who said he and his family went to the plaza to get milk when he spotted a man who looked “unwell” leaning against a pickup and then later get into the driver’s seat.
Bernardo testified he initially thought the man was ill, but later realized “he’d had a few too many drinks.”
He said the pickup almost hit a building in the plaza as it drove away. He said he called police because he was concerned about the safety of others on the street.
Bernardo said he was a fan of Vaive in his Leafs heyday, but didn’t recognize him at the time. He told police the white-haired man he saw was about 60 years old.
Vaive’s lawyer, Calvin Barry, has made motions under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms challenging the grounds police used to stop Vaive and demand a breath sample. Barry has also challenged Vaive’s access to a lawyer of his choice the night of his arrest.
Vaive was traded to Toronto from the Vancouver Canucks in 1980 and became the first Leaf to score more than 50 goals in a season, a feat he accomplished three times.
He was team captain from 1982 to 1986, before the C was taken from his sweater for missing a practice. He was traded to Chicago before the 1987 season.
Since retiring as a player, Vaive has been heavily involved in charity work, through the Leafs’ community foundation, the United Way and annual golf tournaments. He is a commentator with Leafs TV and has continued to be involved with hockey, coaching several minor league teams including the Mississauga Ice Dogs. He is also a frequent addition to Oldtimers’ Hockey Challenge charity games.
The trial continues.
http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/article/942998--ex-leafs-captain-reeked-of-alcohol-officer-testifies?bn=1
