Impaired driver’s immigration status imperiled

Accident three years ago revealed Ravindu Fabian Muhandiramage, 25, was drunk at wheel

Ravindu Fabian Muhandiramage is a hard-working immigrant from Sri Lanka whose hopes for permanent residency in Canada are at risk because he chose to drive drunk three years ago, court heard Wednesday.

Muhandiramage, 25, of Fredericton, appeared in Fredericton provincial court for sentencing Wednesday. He’d previously admitted to a charge of having an elevated blood-alcohol level within two hours of driving.

Crown prosecutor Rodney Jordan said Fredericton police officers were dispatched to the corner of Beaverbrook and Tweedsmuir streets at 3:51 a.m. on Sept. 6, 2021, after receiving a report of a single-vehicle accident.