An elderly Canadian driver was left in shock as he learned his license had been suspended over an accident that happened in 1960.
Ossie Gildart, 85, found out he owed a $5,000 CAD ($4,600 USD) fine just before Christmas after he was involved in a minor fender-bender 65 years ago, as reported by CBC News.
Gildart says he has no recollection of the accident and is unsure if it even happened.
The senior citizen thought he would just have to take a driver’s test following last year’s incident.
But he then learned his license had been suspended over the uninsured accident in Toronto in 1960.
‘I just couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t remember having an accident that I wasn’t insured with,’ Gildart said.
Gildart added that he does not remember being uninsured or getting into any accidents during his time in Toronto.
He told CBC News that he worked as a service technician in Ontario, which meant he was required to have insurance and renew his driver’s license every year.
Ossie Gildart, pictured, was handed a $5,000 CAD ($4,600 USD) fine for a car accident that happened in 1960 which he cannot remember
The accident is said to have happened in Toronto during 1960 (the city is pictured in 1960), but Gildart says he doesn’t remember it happening
‘I was never notified by anybody, for anything. I was never suspended. I never had a problem,’ he said.
‘I just can’t believe they’d do this to a senior that’s 86 years old next week.’
Gildart said he moved to New Brunswick in 1971 and obtained a Class 1 license to drive trucks.
He claimed he never heard about the 1960 unpaid fine through decades of renewing his license in both Ontario and New Brunswick.
New Brunswick’s Department of Public Safety told CBC News they perform nationwide scans for license suspensions in other jurisdictions.
However, a spokesperson for the agency said Gildart will be off the hook if they discover that the order for the license suspension is over 10 years old.
While Gildart’s license has been reinstated, he is still left with the bill from the Ontario Ministry of Transport, which he is being allowed to pay back monthly.
‘Two hundred dollars a month is a big slap in the face,’ he told CBC News.
‘I’ll have to do without something to get that.’
Gildart’s family said they are looking into ways to fight the charge, including hiring a lawyer.
