Drunk driver left accident scene

Martin Robert Tyc, 35, of Fredericton, smashed into another car in traffic, left crash site on foot with dog after he couldn’t get Jeep to move

A Fredericton man found himself behind bars this week for leaving the scene of an accident he caused last fall and then refusing a demand for a sample of his breath.

Martin Robert Tyc, 35, of Union Street, appeared in Fredericton provincial court for sentencing Wednesday, having previously pleaded guilty to two offences: refusing a breath demand and leaving the scene of an accident.

Crown prosecutor Rebecca Butler said Gretchen Johnston called police Nov. 23 after a Jeep had smashed into her car on Union Street near the Picaroons Roundhouse.

Martin Robert Tyc (Photo: Facebook)

“She believed the other driver was impaired,” the prosecutor said of the victim.

The investigation revealed that after the Jeep collided with Johnston’s car, it went off the road and the male driver jumped out and approached the victim.

“He said, ‘Don’t call the police. I’ll pay for it,’” Butler said.

But Johnston said she was calling the police, court heard, and that’s when the male driver got back into his Jeep and tried to drive away. However, the vehicle was inoperable as a result of the collision.

The male driver was nevertheless intent on leaving the scene, the prosecutor said.

“[Johnston] advised the other driver left the area on foot with a black and white dog,” Butler said.

Police found the Jeep was registered to a family in Saint John, she said, but when an officer called them, it was discovered they’d sold it recently to Martin Tyc.

A record check revealed Tyc lived on Union Street, Butler said, and the male driver was seen walking in the direction of Tyc’s address.

When police went to his residence, the prosecutor said, they were met by his partner, who admitted that he was there and had just arrived home. Court heard the couple also had a black and white dog.

Tyc was passed out on his couch, wearing clothes matching the description of the driver who’d left, Butler said, and he had a half-empty can of a vodka drink.

Court heard he refused to blow into a portable screening device to determine if he had an elevated blood-alcohol level.

The offender told court Wednesday he hadn’t been trying to drive away, but he also admitted his memory of the incident is spotty and had no recollection of speaking to Johnston.

Butler said Johnston’s victim-impact statement shows the incident has had a lasting effect on her.

“She says she now drives with a sense of fear she didn’t have before,” the prosecutor said.

Butler filed Tyc’s prior criminal history with the court, noting it shows he has a prior related convictions in recent years.

She said his pre-sentence report indicates he’s been sober for the past seven months, but while he talks of attending Alcoholcs Anonymous meetings, he’s yet to attend one.

Given the prior conviction, the Criminal Code of Canada dictates a mandatory 30-day jail term and two-year prohibition against driving, and Butler asked the court to impose that minimum sentence.

She also requested a term of probation for the count of leaving the scene of the accident.

‘It was a rock bottom’

Defence lawyer Isabelle Caissie agreed with the recommended minimum sentence, noting her client will pay a price for his crimes.

She said he’s recently been employed at a local restaurant, and his jail term will affect that job.

The defence lawyer said Tyc has some health issues, which include panic attacks, alcohol-withdrawal symptoms and seizures. He also suffers from depression and anxiety, she said, adding he’d been using alcohol to self-medicate.

Caissie said Tyc tried attending AA meetings.

“It’s not for everyone,” she said, adding her client is committed to his recovery.

Tyc told the court the accident was a wake-up call for him.

“It was a rock bottom,” he said. “It’s something I have to live with every day.”

The offender said he almost lost everything that day last fall.

“I haven’t drank since,” he said.

“You’re fortunate there were no physical injuries,” said Judge Cameron Gunn.

He imposed the requested 30-day jail term and driving ban for two years.

The judge also placed him on probation for a year following his jail sentence, and during that time, he’s to have no contact with Johnston and to attend counselling as directed by his probation officer.

At the conclusion of sentencing, Butler withdrew a related, alternative charge of impaired driving.

The Fredericton Police Force released statistics this week showing that impaired-driving offences between Jan. 1 and June 20 of this year were up by about 25 per cent over the same period in 2022.

There were 103 such offences in the first six months of 2023, the force reported, as compared to 85 in the first half of 2022.

Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.