Tay Valley man charged after suspected impaired driving in Centre Hastings
A Tay Valley Township man is facing multiple charges after a suspected impaired driver was reported in Centre Hastings.
Shortly after 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, officers with the Central Hastings Ontario Provincial Police responded to a report of a possible impaired driver at a gas station on Highway 62. The vehicle was located and stopped on Highway 7.
Police used a roadside alcohol screening device, and the driver was arrested and taken to the detachment for further testing.
As a result of the investigation, Benjamin Clarke, 36, of Tay Valley Township, has been charged with:
- Operation while impaired – alcohol
- Operation while impaired – blood alcohol concentration (80 plus)
- Driving with an open container of liquor
- Operation while prohibited under the Criminal Code – two counts
- Driving while under suspension – Highway Traffic Act
- Driving a vehicle with cannabis in open packing
- Driving a vehicle with no validated permit
- Failing to comply with a probation order – two counts
Charges have not been proven in court.
Clarke was held in custody and is scheduled to appear for a bail hearing before the Ontario Court of Justice in Belleville on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. His driver’s licence had previously been suspended indefinitely, and the vehicle was impounded for 45 days.