Drunk driver will be sentenced next month
By Tracy McLaughlin ,Special to QMI Agency
First posted: Thursday, April 17, 2014 06:36 PM EDT
BARRIE - A Cobourg man who got out of drug rehab and went straight to the liquor store to buy a bottle of whiskey before killing a woman with his SUV doesn’t believe he needs any counseling, a court heard Thursday.
Christopher Dubreuil, 29, has pleaded guilty to impaired driving causing the death of Ashley Fogal, 24, a woman known for “working wonders” with mentally handicapped children.
Dubreuil also pleaded guilty to impaired driving causing bodily harm of her best friend, Alyssa Blight, who sustained devastating injuries.
The two women were passionate country music fans and were dressed in cowboy boots on their way to a Miranda Lambert concert at Casino Rama when Dubreuil’s vehicle suddenly crossed the centre line and careened head-on into their vehicle at 143 km/h on Aug. 11, 2011.
Blight told the court she remembers seeing headlights in the darkness suddenly veering straight into her lane.
“There was nowhere to go,” said Blight, who still gets flashbacks and panic attacks. “We had no chance to avoid the situation — because of a bad choice someone else made.”
Dubreuil was impaired by alcohol and the sedative Lorazepam — but what made it even worse was that he was probably also texting at the time, the prosecutor said.
“He’s already got alcohol and Lorazepam in his system. He’s driving at a high rate of speed — and he’s got his head down to look at the phone,” said Crown attorney Kristine Staats.
Witnesses saw him with his head down and phone records show he was receiving text messages shortly before the collision, she said.
Earlier that day Dubreuil had just completed a stint at a Brooklin rehab facility for his addiction to Oxycontin. He and a female outpatient left and headed straight to the liquor store. They got a room at a hotel nearby and staggered over to the casino but Dubreuil was turned away at the door because of his drinking. So he jumped in his friend’s SUV to head back to Cobourg. Seconds later he crossed the centre line and hit Fogal’s vehicle.
Dubreuil suffered a fractured skull and broken knees, hips and sternum, but remarkably he climbed out of the sunroof of his crumpled vehicle and stood there as if in no pain.
His lawyer asked the judge to consider a lighter sentence because of the extent of his injuries and because he hasn’t touched a drink since the incident, but the Crown showed no sympathy.
“They are injuries he caused to himself,” said Staats, who suggested the only reason he hasn’t had a drink is because his bail conditions stipulate no alcohol.
The report also stated Dubreuil does not think he needs help for substance or alcohol abuse.
“He needs to recognize that he needs help or he will continue to be a risk to the community,” said Staats. “The consequences of his actions were catastrophic.”
Fogal’s heartbroken family members filled the court room, including her 80-year-old grandmother and her mother, Susan Fogal.
Justice Michael Brown will sentence Dubreuil on May 7.
By Tracy McLaughlin ,Special to QMI Agency
First posted: Thursday, April 17, 2014 06:36 PM EDT
BARRIE - A Cobourg man who got out of drug rehab and went straight to the liquor store to buy a bottle of whiskey before killing a woman with his SUV doesn’t believe he needs any counseling, a court heard Thursday.
Christopher Dubreuil, 29, has pleaded guilty to impaired driving causing the death of Ashley Fogal, 24, a woman known for “working wonders” with mentally handicapped children.
Dubreuil also pleaded guilty to impaired driving causing bodily harm of her best friend, Alyssa Blight, who sustained devastating injuries.
The two women were passionate country music fans and were dressed in cowboy boots on their way to a Miranda Lambert concert at Casino Rama when Dubreuil’s vehicle suddenly crossed the centre line and careened head-on into their vehicle at 143 km/h on Aug. 11, 2011.
Blight told the court she remembers seeing headlights in the darkness suddenly veering straight into her lane.
“There was nowhere to go,” said Blight, who still gets flashbacks and panic attacks. “We had no chance to avoid the situation — because of a bad choice someone else made.”
Dubreuil was impaired by alcohol and the sedative Lorazepam — but what made it even worse was that he was probably also texting at the time, the prosecutor said.
“He’s already got alcohol and Lorazepam in his system. He’s driving at a high rate of speed — and he’s got his head down to look at the phone,” said Crown attorney Kristine Staats.
Witnesses saw him with his head down and phone records show he was receiving text messages shortly before the collision, she said.
Earlier that day Dubreuil had just completed a stint at a Brooklin rehab facility for his addiction to Oxycontin. He and a female outpatient left and headed straight to the liquor store. They got a room at a hotel nearby and staggered over to the casino but Dubreuil was turned away at the door because of his drinking. So he jumped in his friend’s SUV to head back to Cobourg. Seconds later he crossed the centre line and hit Fogal’s vehicle.
Dubreuil suffered a fractured skull and broken knees, hips and sternum, but remarkably he climbed out of the sunroof of his crumpled vehicle and stood there as if in no pain.
His lawyer asked the judge to consider a lighter sentence because of the extent of his injuries and because he hasn’t touched a drink since the incident, but the Crown showed no sympathy.
“They are injuries he caused to himself,” said Staats, who suggested the only reason he hasn’t had a drink is because his bail conditions stipulate no alcohol.
The report also stated Dubreuil does not think he needs help for substance or alcohol abuse.
“He needs to recognize that he needs help or he will continue to be a risk to the community,” said Staats. “The consequences of his actions were catastrophic.”
Fogal’s heartbroken family members filled the court room, including her 80-year-old grandmother and her mother, Susan Fogal.
Justice Michael Brown will sentence Dubreuil on May 7.
Christopher Dubreuil, 27 of Cobourg, pleaded guilty to impaired driving causing the death of Ashley Fogal. (Tracy McLaughlin/Special to the Toronto Sun)
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