RCMP forensic blood analysis results support impaired driving charges against Red Head Cove man

June 15, 2026 - Harbour Grace, Newfoundland and Labrador
From: Newfoundland and Labrador RCMP

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Harbour Grace RCMP has charged 43-year-old Patrick Turpin with impaired operation after receiving forensic laboratory results related to a March 2026 hit and run collision in Old Perlican.

Shortly after 4:00 p.m. on March 9, Harbour Grace RCMP responded to a report of a hit and run collision involving a possible impaired driver. Police learned that the driver of a pick-up truck collided with the deck of a Circular Avenue home before departing the area. The wooden patio structure sustained extensive damages.

Investigators determined that Patrick Turpin, 43, had been found unresponsive and suffering from serious injuries behind the wheel of his heavily damaged vehicle on Red Head Road, north of Route 70, and had been transported to hospital.

A warrant was obtained and police later seized Turpin’s blood samples from the medical facility for forensic examination.

In mid-May, the toxicology report from the blood analysis was received and confirmed Turpin’s blood alcohol content was more than four times the legal limit. The results support Criminal Code charges of impaired driving.

Turpin will appear in Harbour Grace Provincial Court on August 5, 2026, to answer to charges of impaired operation of a motor vehicle and impaired operation over 80 mg%. In accordance with the provincial Highway Traffic Act, his licence was also suspended.

Impaired operation of any motor vehicle is a choice that places the driver and others at an increased, unnecessary and unacceptable level of risk. If you suspect an individual is driving while impaired, please immediately call 911 to make a report.

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