VIDEO: Impaired Zamboni driver arrested after crashing into hockey rink in Canada, police say

Police in Quebec have charged a Zamboni operator with impaired driving in what might be one of the most Canadian crashes ever caught on camera.

The incident happened around 9:45 p.m. on Monday when police say a 25-year-old ice resurfacer driver got behind the wheel of a Zamboni at the Meredith Centre Arena in Chelsea, approximately 16 kilometres northwest of Ottawa across the Quebec border.

The man was reportedly dressed up as a kangaroo and impaired by alcohol when he started up the machine and drove into the boards of the rink in a low-speed crash.

A 30-second video shared by police and posted on X by @saucehockey shows the man speaking with a referee when he puts the Zamboni in drive and crashes into the corner boards.

A Zamboni driver from Gatineau was arrested for resurfacing the ice under the influence. (In this 30-second video released by local police, the driver of the Zamboni can be seen dressed as a kangaroo with a hood over his head as he begins to resurface the ice and crashes at far… pic.twitter.com/IjE5Lpu7Wp

— Sauce Hockey (@saucehockey) October 23, 2024

Officers with Sécurité Publique MRC des Collines-de-l’Outaouais came to the rink and said the 25-year-old male failed a sobriety test. He was then arrested and released and will be back in court at a later date.

The man’s driver’s license was also suspended, police say.

No one was hurt in the crash but there was damage to a rink door.

The video has been shared across multiple social media accounts and has gained over 500,000 views.