‘Reckless and stupid': Impaired driving spike in Hamilton leads to six deaths in two months
Hamilton police say there has been a 'significant' spike in impaired driving across the city in the past two months that has led to the deaths of six people.
New statistics released Friday indicate that impaired driving incidents increased by 25 per cent in May of 2025 compared to the same month last year.
Police describe June's number as 'even more alarming,' citing a 53 per cent rise from the same month in 2024.
Overall, they say impaired driving in Hamilton is up 11 per cent year-to-date.
'Impaired driving is on the rise in Hamilton. This means more people are making reckless, stupid, life-altering decisions, not just for themselves, but for everyone else on the road,' Hamilton police chief Frank Bergen said in a video posted to social media on Friday.
'This is a dangerous and deeply troubling trend, and it's got to stop.'
Since the beginning of June, there have been three fatal collisions in the city that police say were directly linked to alcohol impairment. Six people died as a result, including a 10-year-old child.
Also on Friday, police said they arrested and charged a 32-year-old Hamilton man in the deaths of two people in an overnight crash on Stoney Creek Mountain.
The three-vehicle crash happened shortly after midnight on June 1 in the area of Upper Centennial Parkway between Mud Street East and Green Mountain Road.
Crash
Two people are dead after a fatal collision in Hamilton on Sunday June 1, 2025 (CP24 photo).
Police said a 2014 Ford F-150 and 2014 Chevrolet Silverado were both driving southbound on Upper Centennial when the F-150 collided with the Silverado.
The F-150 then crossed into the northbound lanes and hit a 2015 Kia Sorento head-on, police said.
Both the driver and passenger of the Sorento were pronounced dead on the scene.
On July 24, police arrested Nemanja Trivanovic. He is charged with multiple offences under the Criminal Code and Highway Traffic Act including two counts each of dangerous operation causing death, impaired operation causing death, and over 80 causing death, as well as stunt driving, speeding (140 km/h in a 70 km/h zone), defective brakes, and operating an unsafe motor vehicle.
None of the charges have been tested in court.
Police say they will be increasing their presence around Hamilton this summer, both on the road and on the water.
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