A Manitoba aircraft mechanic with a “horrendous” booze addiction who was sentenced last week for a drunken crash that nearly killed woman is facing new charges of impaired and dangerous driving.
David Donald Shand, 47, is accused of impaired driving, dangerous driving and refusing to provide a breath sample in connection to an incident the evening of Jan. 6.
Winnipeg police said Tuesday a driver travelling on Portage Avenue that day called 911 after seeing a GMC truck being driven in what was described as “an extremely unsafe manner,” said Const. Natalie Aitken.
The truck was seen colliding with curbs and even driving “close to the sidewalks,” Aitken said.
“Certainly, something was up with this vehicle,” she said.
Cops arrested Shand in the parking lot of a large shopping mall in the 3600-block of Portage not long after, police said.
Shand, who hails from Headingley, was released by police on a promise to appear in court Feb. 7.
He is not facing any allegations he breached the conditions of a prior release.
One week ago — on the same day Shand’s new charges were formally sworn and entered into the court database — he was handed a 90-day intermittent jail sentence to be served on his days off of work and three years of supervised probation after pleading guilty to impaired driving causing bodily harm.
On July 7, 2010, Shand hit a street sweeper on Highway 330 near the Perimeter at a speed of 144 km/h. His truck spun out and slammed directly into the front of a 49-year-old woman’s Mazda.
At the time of the crash, Shand — described in court last week as an alcoholic with an “almost irresistible addiction” to booze — was into his second bottle of vodka of the day.
The victim suffered severe, life-altering injuries and required a number of surgeries to save her life. More than a year she has still been unable to return to work.
An agent for defence lawyer Bruce Bonney appeared on Shand’s behalf Tuesday to speak to the new charges.
Shand was to begin serving his intermittent jail term Tuesday.
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