A snowmobiler, who narrowly missed hitting a truck as he attempted to flee from police in Wawa last year, has lost his driver's licence for 10 years.
Spencer Wright also was sentenced to four months house arrest Wednesday after pleading guilty to four offences stemming from the Feb.14, 2022 afternoon incident.
He was convicted of dangerous driving, flight from police, driving while prohibited, and breach of probation.
The 28-year-old appeared in a Sault Ste. Marie courtroom via Zoom.
Ontario Court Justice John Condon heard Ontario Provincial Police attempted to stop the snowmobile near McKinley and Third avenues.
Wright accelerated and travelling at a high speed he nearly struck an oncoming truck, which had to take evasive action, prosecutor Blair Hagan said.
The accused continued driving, was arrested minutes later and taken to the Superior East OPP detachment.
Officers learned he was on three prohibited driving orders and bound by a probation order from 2021, the assistant Crown attorney said.
Hagan and defence lawyer Jessica Grbevski jointly recommended the conditional sentence, which the accused will serve in the community, and the lengthy driving ban.
Wright knew he wasn't supposed to be operating a vehicle and took off when officers tried to pull him over, the Crown said.
His criminal record includes 2013 convictions for driving while disqualified, flight from police and dangerous driving, as well as a conviction in 2021 for driving while prohibited.
"Specific deterrence has to be addressed," Hagan said.
The judge heard Wright recently finished a similar four-month conditional sentence for a driving while disqualified offence that occurred Sept. 12 in Chatham.
He did that sentence without any breaches, Hagan said.
Grbevski said her client, who was born and raised in Wawa, returned to the town two and half years ago, after residing in Chatham for five years.
He is self-employed and is "very passionate about his construction business."
Wright is quite handy, helps elderly residents and volunteers at a senior citizen drop-in centre, she said.
"I'm doing my best to stay out of trouble," Wright told the judge.
"This is a road you"ve been down several times before," Condon said when he imposed the recommended sentence.
"It appears to some degree the last conditional sentence has been some deterrence. I hope another one keeps you out of the justice system."
During his house arrest, Wright can only leave his property for work, to attend weekly AA meetings and to do his volunteer work, which must be approved by his sentence supervisor.
He is permitted to be out for two hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays to obtain the necessities of life.
Wright must take any recommended counselling and can't possess any alcohol or intoxicating substances.
He is not to occupy the driver's seat of any vehicle and that includes a car, motorcycle, snow machine or riding lawn mower, Condon told him.
Don't be tempted to drive again in a small town like Wawa "where everyones knows when you sneeze let alone drive,'" the judge warned.