Drunk driving trial set to resume later this month
By Peggy Revell on January 4, 2018.
prevell@medicinehatnews.com @MHNprevell The continuation of a trial for a Cypress County man charged in a drunk driving collision that severely injured multiple people in more than two years ago is now set to resume on Jan. 25. Curtis Beisel faces multiple counts of impaired driving and dangerous driving causing bodily harm after allegedly driving the wrong way down the Trans-Canada Highway near Dunmore in December 2015. An ensuing collision sent multiple people to hospital, including a newborn. The Jan. 25 date was originally set for hearing arguments by Crown that certain blood evidence should be allowed, despite a judge’s ruling in December that the defendant had his charter rights breached. The judge ruled the police officer with the man at the hospital following the collision had not done enough to ensure access to legal counsel before a blood sample was taken at the request of police as evidence. Crown told the court Thursday that they won’t be seeking to have this evidence used. They will instead be relying on blood taken by the hospital which was later obtained by a warrant. There had been no charter breach in how this evidence had been secured, the judge has ruled. With charter issues now settled, the Crown said it will be making arrangements to have a blood expert called on Jan. 25, instead of the original February date where the trial had expected to continue. 7-6
