FIERY CRASH LEADS TO CHARGES AGAINST GRAVENHURST DRIVER WHO FLED THE SCENE EARLY NEW YEAR’S DAY

GRAVENHURST — Another New Year’s driving offence has police charging a local man whose vehicle ran off the road here.

They say that just after midnight, January 1, officers arrested a local man after he fled from a collision scene.

Police were called at 12:15 a.m., along with Gravenhurst Fire Department, who responded to reports of a vehicle that had left the roadway on Beiers Road in Gravenhurst and caught on fire.

Nearby residents came out of their home and assisted one occupant; however the driver fled after they called 911.

Police along with assistance from the OPP K-9 Unit and the Emergency Response Team (ERT) searched the area, but were unable to locate the driver.

Following an investigation police charged 38-year-old Daniel Barnes, of Gravenhurst, with Dangerous Operation CC 320.13(1) and Failure to Stop after Accident CC 320.16(1)

Barnes is also charged with Highway Traffic Act and Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act offences.

He is to appear in the Ontario Court of Justice in Bracebridge on February 13, 2024.