They went searching through bush. They called in the canine unit. But it took the high-beam of a Durham Police helicopter, hovering above a Pickering field, to locate the off-duty Toronto police officer on the run.

On the night of April 25, Const. David Bilby, a 34-year-old officer from Toronto’s 54 division, veered into oncoming traffic, slammed his truck into a vehicle, then fled — leaving the injured other driver and his car in a ditch, according to Durham police.

When officers approached Bilby, who was hiding under a tree, according to Durham police, they smelled “a very strong odour of an alcoholic beverage” on his breath, Crown prosecutor Richard Connolly told an Oshawa court last month.

Officers took Bilby to the station, noted his slurred speech and administered a breathalyzer test. He blew twice the legal limit: 160 mg of alcohol in 100 ml of blood.

“He was falling asleep periodically while sitting on the bench,” Connolly said, reading from the arrest report. “He had to be physically repositioned on the bench at one point.”

Bilby pleaded guilty to one charge of impaired driving on June 18. Justice R.J. Richards suspended his licence for a year and slapped Bilby with a $2,600 fine.

The officer earned $100,056.30 in 2012, according to Ontario’s Sunshine List, which publishes the names and salaries of public-sector employees who earn over six figures.

Two other charges — failing to stop following a motor vehicle accident, and a secondary drinking and driving charge — were withdrawn.

“I’m truly sorry for what I did,” Bilby told the court in June. “I spent a lifetime trying to do the right thing, and then I didn’t that night.”

Bilby’s lawyers told the judge that their client was seeking counselling through the Bellwood Health Services addiction program.

Peter Thorning, Bilby’s lawyer, told the Star his client did not want to comment beyond what was said in court.

Mark Pugash, spokesman for the Toronto police, said the force’s professional standards unit is investigating Bilby’s case to determine if Police Service Act charges are warranted. He could not comment on what consequences the officer might face.

As the investigation continues, Bilby remains on the job at Toronto’s 54 division. He does not require a driver’s licence in his current role, Pugash said.

The accident occurred around 9:30 p.m., at Brock Rd. and Concession 5 in Pickering.

According to his statement to police, Aaron Mallows, the driver of the vehicle Bilby hit, initially thought the truck Bilby was driving was about to make a turn.

Mallows told police he slowed down, then saw the back end of Bilby’s truck swing out and realized it was out of control. He told officers he was trying to figure out how to avoid a collision when Bilby’s truck hit the driver’s side of his car, sending it spinning into the ditch.

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The accident split Mallows’ lip, and his face was cut and bleeding from broken glass, according to the statement.

The Durham police arrest report states that Bilby left the scene following the crash and went into a field north of the Pickering community of Whitevale. After the helicopter and canine unit were called in, Bilby was found in the bushes.

Considering the crash and civilian injury, the impaired-driving offence could have warranted a much harsher penalty, legal experts say.

“Others in similar circumstances could easily have attracted a jail sentence — even on an early guilty plea,” Daniel Brown, a Toronto criminal defence lawyer who litigates impaired driving cases, wrote in an email.

Graham T. Clark, another criminal lawyer whose practice area includes driving offences, said in an email that a jail sentence for a first impaired-driving offence is “extraordinary.” But based on the fact that there was property damage and personal injury, a criminal lawyer would caution a client in this situation that jail “will be on the table if not inevitable upon conviction.”

Clark said another factor that can warrant jail for a first impaired-driving offence is the “unusually high” demand on police resources, such as a helicopter, to find and apprehend an offender.

The minimum sentence for a first-time impaired offence is a one-year licence suspension and a $1,000 fine.

Richards said the sentence — put forward as a joint submission from the Crown and Bilby’s defence — took consideration of the fact that Bilby had no prior criminal record and had a “distinguished background” in terms of his service as a police officer.

The judge also noted that the fine acknowledged “additional resources” used by police to apprehend Bilby, and his high blood-alcohol content. Any reading above 160 milligrams of alcohol must be considered an aggravating factor during sentencing, meaning a judge is statutorily mandated to take the blood-alcohol content into consideration during sentencing.

Jason Rabinovitch, a Toronto criminal lawyer, said that even the elevated fine in this case seems “a bit lenient.” But he noted Bilby’s willingness to seek counselling and said a proactive move like that is often taken into consideration by a judge, particularly where they’ve taken steps in that regard before coming to court.

“It goes a long way towards rehabilitation, and that’s usually a very big consideration by the court,” Rabinovitch said.

Pugash could not say when the Professional Standards investigation was expected to finish.