York Regional Police has charged a 52-year-old woman from Newmarket, after receiving a 9-1-1 call from her son, age 9. advising that his mother was drinking and driving with him in the car.

On Wednesday, Nov. 11, just before 4:30 p.m., police received a 9-1-1 call from a mobile phone. There was no voice contact, but there were sounds indicating the call was coming from a vehicle.

The emergency call taker phoned the mobile phone back and spoke to a boy who answered the phone.

He told police that he was in a van with his mom, who was drinking and driving. The boy sounded scared, but was able to tell the call taker his name, that he was age nine, where he was, the description of the van and where he lives.

Eventually his mother got on the phone, telling police that she had just one drink, that she was fine, before hanging up the phone.

Police were able to determine that the van had driven from the area of Dufferin Street and 17th Sideroad in King Township where the call originated, to the area of Columbus Way and Mulock Drive in Newmarket, where it was stopped by officers.

The driver of the vehicle, a resident of Newmarket, was placed under arrest for impaired driving. Arrangements were made for her son to be safely turned over to his father and the Children’s Aid Society was also contacted.

The driver was taken police headquarters in Newmarket for a breath test, where she blew more than twice the legal limit for alcohol and was subsequently charged with impaired driving and over 80.

So far this year, York Regional Police has laid more than 1,500 charges in relation to impaired driving due to alcohol or drugs, which is up from the 1,384 charges laid at this time in 2014.

York Regional Police encourages everyone to call 9-1-1 if they believe a motorist is impaired by drugs or alcohol. We will respond to these calls promptly as they are considered to be crimes in progress.