Not guilty of drunk driving with ex-hab Kassian
In the time it took for a verdict to be delivered, Alison De Courcy Ireland, 26, moved away, got married and had three children.
De Courcy Ireland was found not guilty Monday of the charges of impaired driving causing injury, driving over the legal alcohol limit and causing injury while driving former Montreal Canadiens player Zack Kassian, who was traded to the team for Brandon Prust in 2015 but never played a regular-season game with the Canadiens.
The incident happened on Oct. 4, 2015, when a Ford F-350 truck that was loaned to Kassian by a dealership slammed into a tree just before 6 a.m. at the corner of Clanranald Ave. and Côte-st-luc Rd.
When Montreal police officers arrived, they found De Courcy Ireland and another woman, Gemma Brown, waiting outside the heavily damaged vehicle.
Kassian, who had just joined the Canadiens and had yet to play in a regular-season game with the team, was found in the lobby of a nearby building, his clothes and body covered with blood. The accident occurred a few blocks away from where De Courcy Ireland was living at the time.
Kassian's nose and one of his feet were broken in the crash.
He was suspended from the team shortly after the incident and admitted to the NHL'S substance abuse program. He was traded to the Oilers when his suspension was lifted two months later.
The case was marked by uncommon delays, with its first two judges going on medical leave.
Speaking minutes after the verdict was delivered, De Courcy Ireland's lawyer, Andrew Barbacki, said his client is relieved that she can finally get on with her life without a criminal record.
“She told the truth all along and didn't hide anything from the outset,” Barbacki said. “I don't think she had any choice but to act the way she did. It was a difficult decision she was put in.”
He said it was “horrible” for his client to have to wait so long to be found not guilty. De Courcy Ireland attended the verdict through video conference from New Brunswick where she now lives, and thanked Judge Christian Tremblay after he delivered his decision.
Kassian testified during the trial that he had consumed cocaine and alcohol at his condo while both women were present and that he was very intoxicated when they left and climbed into his truck. He also claimed he never got behind the wheel of the vehicle. He testified that he climbed into the back seat and fell asleep.
However, Brown testified that De Courcy Ireland took over driving because Kassian passed out while behind the wheel.
“They were close to my client's home, so the two girls put him in the back seat and drove him to her house,” Barbacki said. “They didn't have cellphones at the time, and she didn't blow a high level of alcohol. The Crown conceded there wasn't sufficient evidence of impairment to find her guilty of impaired driving.”
Tests done on the samples revealed her blood-alcohol level was 117 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood. The legal limit in impaired driving cases in Canada is 80 mg of alcohol. Barbacki noted the blood samples were taken after 7:30 a.m. on the morning in question, at least 90 minutes after the crash. The attorney argued the tests are not evidence of how impaired De Courcy Ireland was when the truck crashed.
De Courcy Ireland was acquitted because of a technicality that the defence was not given the certificate of the analysis of the defendant's blood sample within six months of it being done. In fact, it took 16 months for the certificate to be issued. The defence was therefore not permitted to ask for a second sample to be analyzed within the six months prescribed by law.