Buffalo Sabres center Ryan O’Reilly was scheduled to appear in a London, ON courtroom on Thursday morning for the impaired driving charge brought against him over a month ago.
However, O’Reilly didn’t appear in person. Instead, his attorney appeared on behalf of the 24-year old Clinton, ON native, and his case was pushed back to next month.
His next appearance was scheduled for September 10.
Arrested back on July 9th, just days after signing a seven-year extension with the Buffalo Sabres, O’Reilly allegedly crashed his 1951 Chevy pick-up truck into a Tim Horton’s Cafe & Bake Shop around 4am before leaving the scene of the accident. Police said that O’Reilly drove the vehicle away from the building before eventually leaving the vehicle abandoned, and walking away.
When arrested, O’Reilly was charged with both impaired driving and failing to remain at the scene. The impaired driving charge carries a mandatory 90-day suspension of his driver’s license as well as a potential fine of $1,000 and a year-long driving ban. For failing to remain at the scene, O’Reilly could face up to six months in jail, a fine between $400-$2,000, seven demerit points on his license and a suspension of his license for up to two years under Canada’s Highway Traffic Act.
Shortly after the arrest, O’Reilly deactivated his Twitter account in an attempt to avoid the severe backlash from fans on the Internet.
O’Reilly is now subject to likely discipline from both the Sabres and the NHL itself. Whether or not the team or the league decides to go that route with the young player remains to be seen.
