Brand New Sabre Ryan O'Reilly Got Drunk And Drove Into A 'Tim Horton's' Because...Buffalo

Looks like a window has been smashed out of the Lucan Tim Hortons. (cc: Ryan O'Reilly impaired driving reports) pic.twitter.com/tUafQzJntT

— Marty Thompson (@martythompson_) July 14, 2015

CBS Sports- Weeks after signing a seven-year contract extension with the Buffalo Sabres after being acquired from the Colorado Avalanche, forward Ryan O'Reilly was charged with impaired driving and failing to remain on the scene of a single-vehicle accident by the Ontario Provincial Police in Middlesex County.

According to both AM 980 radio, which first reported on the incident, and the Buffalo News, O'Reilly's truck collided with a Tim Hortons coffee and donut shop.

OPP announced Monday that O'Reilly, 24, from Bluewater, Ont., had been charged with driving a motor vehicle while ability impaired (alcohol) and care or control over 80 mgs. He was also charged under the Highway Traffic Act with failing to remain at the scene.

According to Middlesex County OPP, a green Chevrolet pickup truck struck a commercial building on Richmond St. last Thursday morning (July 9) just after 4:00am. An employee of the Lucan Tim Hortons confirmed to AM980 that there had been a motor vehicle incident, but was unaware of the driver's identity.

After the collision, police say a suspect drove the vehicle southbound on Saintsbury Line, before abandoning it and travelling by foot with another, unnamed, male occupant.

Police determined that the the driver had been drinking alcohol. He was arrested, transported to an OPP detachment for breath testing, then released on a promise to appear.



You see? That's just what happens when you go from smoking a bunch of legal marijuana amongst the beautiful scenery of the Rocky mountains to rotting in the purgatory that separates the United States and Canada. Hell, signing a 7 year extension in Buffalo without even experiencing one of their winters may have been the most rash decision ever made by an athlete. If you sign away your happiness for the better part of the next decade what else are you going to do but get mind numbingly shit faced and take a 'Drive-Thru' sign literally? Do they even have Uber in Buffalo? Do they even have anything in Buffalo? I'm pretty sure Ryan O'Reilly drove into damn near the only thing that brings people happiness in Buffalo, other than alcohol of course. If the best part of my home city was a football team led by E.J. Manuel I would probably be blind drunk and driving my brand new truck into breakfast establishments as well. 

I got to give Ryan O'Reilly credit though. At least he is fitting in to his new surroundings. It doesn't get any more 'Buffalo' than crashing into a Tim Horton's, driving away, and then taking off on foot leaving an antique Chevrolet truck behind. That may be the most 'Buffalo' crime in the entire history of the city. You can call O'Reilly a felon, but at least he's an adaptable felon. Part of me wants to give him a pass here. I don't want to endorse driving under the influence, but at least no one was hurt. You don't just live in Buffalo without undergoing an precedented amount of self loathing. That city could force a born again Mormon to hit the bottom of the bottle. I've always assumed the only way to avoid suicide in upstate New York was an unparalleled amount of alcohol consumption. Ryan just hasn't found the best way to get home safely afterwards. Hey, look on the bright side, at least he has the next 7 years to figure it out.