R. v. C.A. [Alberta Provincial Court, Calgary, June 2018]

C.A. was charged with refusing to provide a breath sample and impaired driving. Just after 2:00am a civilian witness saw the vehicle driven by A.C. lose control and run into a power pole in the downtown core going approximately 60 km/ hour. The vehicle was described as driving up the pole and then doing a 180 turn. The powerlines were knocked to the ground. Police, EMS and fire were dispatched. When the police arrived on scene they asked C.A. what happened, she slurred  “I’m super intoxicated”. She was arrested and put in the back of the police car where she laid face down moaning. When she arrived at the police station she was incomprehensible and unable to balance. She was in and out of sleep and had a hard time controlling her body movements. Ultimately she provided a single sample of her breath which measured at over three times the legal limit. She was not able to provide a second sample because she lost her balance and fell on the breathlyzer machine, aborting the test. She then could not maintain consciousness for long enough to provide a sample. Ms. Fagan entered pleas of ‘not guilty’ and scheduled a trial date. The trial commenced in January and continued over the course of several days in the months that followed.

BOTTOM LINE: Ostensibly acknowledging the strength of Ms. Fagan’s position, the Crown withdrew all charges against C.A. midway through trial.