Christy Natsis's pre-crash reaction delayed, officer says
Const. Jeff Hewitt says Pembroke dentist had 'no measurable response'
An OPP crash investigator says a Pembroke dentist’s response in the seconds before a fatal crash was delayed.
Const. Jeff Hewitt, who reconstructs collisions for the OPP, said Wednesday that Christy Natsis didn’t react the same way as Bryan Casey, who was killed in the March 2011 collision.
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He said Natsis’s reaction leading up to the collision was delayed compared to drivers in similar situations.
He also said there was no measurable response to show any evasive action was taken by her, as computer data from her SUV shows she never applied her brakes.
The court had previously heard Natsis’s blood alcohol level was more than double the legal limit.
Hewitt said debris and road marks show Natsis crossed into Casey’s eastbound lane, findings that match testimony from earlier in the trial.
While Casey’s blood alcohol level was one and a half times the legal limit, Hewitt said his response was typical to a perceived threat as he started to brake 1.9 seconds before impact.
Natsis’s defence objected several times during Wednesday’s proceedings, saying Hewitt’s testimony wasn’t anywhere in his written report on the Highway 17 crash.
Hewitt will be back in court Thursday, where he’s expected to face cross-examination from Natsis’s defence.
Natsis had pleaded not guilty to impaired driving causing death, dangerous driving causing death and exceeding the legal blood-alcohol limit.