Paramedic testifies Carol Berner didn’t appear to be drunk
Posted June 2, 2010 1:10 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
SURREY (NEWS1130) – A paramedic on scene the day Carol Berner’s car struck and killed 4-year-old Alexa Middelaer says he couldn’t smell alcohol on Berner’s breath. Berner is charged with impaired driving causing death.
The Crown says the defendant admitted to undercover officers she had had three glasses of wine before getting behind the wheel that day. However, paramedic Richard McClelland says he was talking face to face with Berner, and testified he couldn’t smell alcohol on her breath and didn’t suspect that she was intoxicated. Another paramedic, Richard Williston, testified that Berner admitted to him that she’d been drinking, but when he asked her how much, she was ‘evasive’.
Michael Middelaer, Alexa’s father, says he sympathizes with first responders. “At the time, these people are doing what they’re doing. They’re absolutely not thinking about collecting evidence for a criminal trial.”
The judge has allowed some photos of the crash to be released (see above). The judge would not release any photos which showed Alexa or her aunt at the crash scene. Carole Berner is charged with impaired driving causing death and dangerous driving, amongst other charges. She has pleaded not guilty.
This is the first week of a trial that’s scheduled to last for four weeks.
