After multiple delays in his impaired driving case, Buffalo Sabres’ star Ryan O’Reilly can breathe a sigh of relief tonight. A London, Ontario court found insufficient evidence to prosecute O’Reilly following a series of strange alcohol-related events in early July of last year.
No reasonable prospect of conviction. No more evidence
— Jane Sims (@JaneatLFPress) July 11, 2016
The prosecution alleged that O’Reilly, under the influence of alcohol, crashed his truck into a Tim Horton‘s in the early morning of July 9, 2015. The lone witness, an employee who was cooking at the time, asserted in court that she could not positively identify the driver of the green Chevrolet, which drove away while she asked a coworker to contact the police. According to reports from the time, police arrested O’Reilly and a friend shortly after they fled the scene and abandoned the truck. Upon his arrest, O’Reilly allegedly registered a .08 blood alcohol content and was subsequently charged with Driving While Ability Impaired as well as fleeing the scene.
After unexpectedly dropping the fleeing charge, the court finally heard the case against him on Monday in an abbreviated session which lasted mere hours. Due to the witness’ inability to accurately identify O’Reilly as the driver of the truck, combined with a lack of substantial evidence, the Crown has decided to drop the case and acquit him of all charges. Having pled not guilty from the very beginning of the trial, O’Reilly issued thanks to his defense team for their support and communicated a desire to put this incident behind him. He is unlikely to face any discipline from the Crown or from the Sabres themselves, who refused to suspend him following the incident.
The alleged incident occurred just six days after O’Reilly penned a lucrative seven-year/$52.5 million contract with the Sabres. Last season, he went on to become the Sabres’ leading scorer, totaling 60 points in 71 games played.
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