A Brampton man took to social media earlier this week to prove his innocence after he was wrongfully charged for careless driving.
The man, going by the YouTube name of Brampton Citizen, posted dash cam footage of an accident between himself and another motorist that occurred over the weekend.
Brampton Citizen was driving east on Peel Centre Drive just outside of Bramalea City Centre Sunday making his way through a green light.
As he proceeded to make his way through the intersection however, another driver in the opposite lane turned left, causing a collision between the two.
“The driver in the opposite left lane was turning and did not pay attention to the road and hit my car,” said Brampton Citizen in his YouTube posting. “I braked as hard as I could but it was not enough to stop the collision since the other driver kept turning.”
But when police arrived at the scene of the crime and took statements from both parties, as well as witnesses, Brampton Citizen, the driver making his way through the green light, was charged and given a ticket.
According to a Peel Police spokesperson, the officer who issued the ticket made his decision based on the two witnesses at the scene who claimed the man had been speeding through a red light at the intersection and the other driver had the right of way.
“Generally witness statements carry a little more weight in incidents like this, because they are not directly involved,”said Peel Police Const. Mark Fischer in an interview with Bramptonist.
Despite the dash cam footage to prove his innocence though, Brampton Citizen was still given a ticket.
“The officer refused to look at the video footage saying I should have told him before I had a dash cam, but I explained that I was trying to retrieve the footage at the time,” Brampton Citizen wrote.
Const. Fisher confirmed that the dash cam footage was brought to light after the ticket was issued. Once a ticket is signed and issued by an officer it’s considered a legal document and cannot be undone, not on the spot anyway.
Brampton Citizen noted that the officer advised him to use the video as evidence in court. Peel Police also confirmed that the case will very likely be thrown out in court with such sound evidence.
Many have taken to social media to defend the man and to call out the other driver as well as witnesses who gave wrongful accounts of the incident. Some are speculating that the other driver was on her phone at the time of the incident.
Certainly Brampton Citizen’s experience is proof of how easily drivers can find themselves in undesirable situations, even when innocent. Surely more people will be looking to invest in dash cams after this.
There is no word yet from Brampton Citizen how far he is in the process of appealing the ticket.