Donovan Bailey is inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in Toronto, Ont. Nov. 5/2008.Kevin Van Paassen
Former sprint champion Donovan Bailey, who has a history of excessive speeding and once wrecked a car given as a prize, was charged earlier this spring with driving under the influence.
Mr. Bailey won gold in the 100-metre event for Canada at the 1996 Olympics.
In March of this year, Mr. Bailey again ran into trouble at the wheel of his car. According to police, he was pulled over on March 28 and charged with driving over the limit.
Mr. Bailey gave his address as Jamaica, according to court documents filed in Toronto. He said he was self-employed.
Mr. Bailey's lawyer, Calvin Barry, said that his client would be pleading not guilty.
Toronto Police Constable Wendy Drummond said officers noticed a Land Rover beside the DVP, just north of the Bayview-Bloor ramp, in the early hours of March 28. An officer stopped to enquire if the driver was okay.
"It's alleged the vehicle then started to drive away,' she said.
The officer stopped the vehicle and administered a breath test on the driver. Mr. Bailey is alleged to have tested over 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, the criminal threshold.
In 2001, Mr. Bailey was convicted of driving his Mercedes-Benz 190 kilometres an hour on the Queen Elizabeth Way in November 2000, and fined $975. "He runs fast and he drives fast, except now he's going to slow down," said his lawyer at the time, Paul Stunt.
In 1997, he was involved in a single-vehicle accident that destroyed his $80,000 Mercedes. In that incident his car struck a concrete utility pole, flipped over and caught fire.
Mr. Bailey was released in the latest incident without having to post a surety or deposit. He was not in court for a routine appearance his lawyer handled Monday. The case is due in court again on June 11.
With a report from The Associated Press
Oliver Moore