GTA street sweeper winds up in Barrie ditch, man charged with drunk driving

A City of Toronto street sweeper is pictured. In a social media post Friday, Barrie police said a man arrested for allegedly driving a street sweeper drunk was employed by a private company in the GTA. (Timothy Neesam/CBC - image credit)
A City of Toronto street sweeper is pictured. In a social media post Friday, Barrie police said a man arrested for allegedly driving a street sweeper drunk was employed by a private company in the GTA. (Timothy Neesam/CBC - image credit)

Barrie police say they have arrested a man who was at the wheel of a street sweeper for alleged drunk driving.

Police issued a news release on Friday saying they were called to Lockhart Road in Barrie, which is roughly 100 kilometres north of Toronto, at around 7:15 p.m. on Thursday.

"The street sweeper was seen being driven into oncoming traffic and being operated erratically before it left the road and became stuck in a ditch," police said in the release.

A 35-year-old man from Barrie has been arrested and charged with impaired driving and failure to comply with a breathalyzer test, police said.

Police said the accused's licence has also been suspended for 90 days.

In a social media post Friday, police said the man was employed by a private company in the Greater Toronto Area.

He was "not actively sweeping" when the street sweeper went into the ditch, police said. "His reason for being in Barrie is not known."