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Prosecutor says case against O’Reilly ‘completely over,’ confirms he initiated dismissal

Ryan O'Reilly, Nikita Kucherov

Ryan O’Reilly, Nikita Kucherov

AP

An Ontario Crown Attorney has confirmed the criminal case against Buffalo All-Star Ryan O’Reilly is “completely over,” following a trial that took place more than one year after O’Reilly was arrested on an impaired driving charge.

But George Christakos, the Crown Attorney -- in Canada, the government prosecutor in criminal cases -- would not divulge any additional details about the case, other than confirming to the Buffalo News he was the one that initiated the dismissal of charges.

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“We heard from the first witness, and after that, I invited the court to dismiss the charges against Mr. O’Reilly,” Christakos told The News. Justice Thomas McKay then agreed to dismiss those charges.

When asked why the case dragged on for more than a year with apparently no eyewitness identification, Christakos declined comment.

He also wouldn’t discuss why the prosecution couldn’t have relied on other evidence, such as the damage to the truck.

O’Reilly was initially charged with impaired driving last July following an incident in Ontario -- an incident in which he allegedly crashed his vintage 1951 Chevrolet pickup into a Tim Horton’s restaurant, and fled the scene.

The case had seven adjournments before a trial date finally was set in late December. O’Reilly, 25, pleaded not guilty to impaired driving and a related blood-alcohol charge earlier in today’s courtroom proceedings.