An Ottawa van driver has been fired after getting caught on video splashing pedestrians with a company vehicle last week.
The dashcam video, which has been viewed over 860,000 times since it was uploaded on July 27, shows a Black & McDonald Limited van swerving to splash pedestrians using the sidewalk.
The publisher of the video, Saif Khan, tweeted at Ottawa police asking if there was any law requiring drivers to slow down near puddles, but police said there was no such bylaw.
They did, however, say drivers may be charged with mischief.
There is no City By-law or offense under the Ontario HTA for vehicles splashing pedestrians while passing them on the road. There may be possibility of a Mischief charge, but one would have to show intent.
— Ottawa Police (@OttawaPolice) July 27, 2018
It seems like things didn’t need to go that far though, as Black & McDonald Limited announced on Sunday that the driver of the vehicle had been fired.
“We apologize to everyone impacted by the recent incident in Ottawa of unacceptable driving by one of our van drivers,” the company stated on its Facebook page.
“We want to reassure the public that safety is our #1 priority. This is an isolated incident and the individual is no longer employed with Black & McDonald.”
Ottawa police Sgt. Mark Gatien thanked Black & MacDonald on Twitter for their “quick and decisive action in this matter,” and thanked a patrol officer who assisted in the case.
Update on the Van Splashing Incident. I would like to thank Black & MacDonald Ottawa Div. for their quick and decisive action in this matter. The driver of this van has been terminated from the company. I would also like to thank a patrol Officer who assisted in this outcome.
— Sgt Mark Gatien (@gatienmc) July 29, 2018
Watch the video of the driver below:
