Testimony of drug use highlights impaired driving causing death trial
There was emotional testimony on Monday from the husband of the woman killed in a crash in south London, Ont. almost four years ago.
Paul Kay testified about the last moments in the life of his 68-year-old wife, Penny.
Kay had been driving north along Highbury Avenue on Oct. 7, 2019 when a grey Hyundai sedan crossed the median and struck his Ford SUV head-on.
“It just happened instantaneously,” said Kay. “There was a loud bang and a white flash.”
Kay said when he turned to his wife she wasn’t breathing, “I watched to see if her chest was rising up and down.”
Kay told the court he is still dealing with injuries he suffered in the crash. He said he suffered a broken shoulder, eight broken ribs, internal injuries and a broken lower back.
After police arrived at the scene they arrested and charged Shawn Norris, 61.
Shawn Norris leaves the London, Ont. courthouse on June 5, 2023. (Nick Paparella/CTV News London)
At the start of the trial he pleaded not guilty to four charges including impaired driving by drugs causing death and careless driving causing death.
Earlier during the proceedings, Norris’ former partner testified and she told the court that the accused would frequently use her prescription drugs.
“I know he used prescription medications like Percocet and oxycodone,” said Christine Flint. “He really didn’t care he used my medications like they were his own.”
Flint told the court that on the day of the crash Norris was on his way to London from St. Thomas, Ont. to pick up methadone.
She said before he left Norris ingested quite a bit of her medications.
Dash cam video captured the crash and was submitted as evidence.
It shows a grey sedan crossing the median and crashing into an SUV in the middle of the day almost four years ago.
The trial resumes Tuesday and is expected to last the rest of the week.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cisco reveals security breach, warns of state-sponsored spy campaign
State-sponsored actors targeted security devices used by governments around the world, according to technology firm Cisco Systems, which said the network devices are coveted intrusion points by spies.
Britney Spears settles long-running legal dispute with estranged father, finally bringing ultimate end to conservatorship
Britney Spears has reached a settlement with her estranged father more than two years after the court-ordered termination of a conservatorship that had given him control of her life, their attorneys said.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
opinion RFK Jr.'s presidential candidacy and its potential threat to Biden and Trump
Although it's still unclear how much damage Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s candidacy can do to either Joe Biden or Donald Trump this election, Washington political columnist Eric Ham says what is clear is both sides recognize the potential threat.
Haida elder suing Catholic Church and priest, hopes for 'healing and reconciliation'
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
It's 30 years since apartheid ended. South Africa's celebrations are set against growing discontent
South Africa marked 30 years since the end of apartheid and the birth of its democracy with a ceremony in the capital Saturday that included a 21-gun salute and the waving of the nation's multicolored flag.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.