Crown questions memory of woman charged in crash

KITCHENER — In closing statements at a Cambridge woman’s trial on two counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm, the Crown focused on what the accused says she can and can’t remember.

Jasmine Henning, 23, testified her memory of the night of June 11, 2017, is “fuzzy.”

She said she remembers her car malfunctioning just before the crash but could not give details of the problem.

“How is it that she can remember this precise detail that the vehicle malfunctioned ... but then go on to say she cannot recall essentially anything else?” prosecutor Michael Dean said on Wednesday.

Justice Scott Latimer noted Henning was involved in a serious crash and could have “memory gaps.”

“It strikes me as suspicious that this one piece of evidence which serves to benefit her is the one piece that she remembers,” Dean said.

Witnesses said Henning’s Mazda 3 and a blue Hyundai Genesis were racing southbound on Water Street North in Cambridge when the Mazda lost control and drifted sideways into northbound traffic near Malcolm Street.

The Mazda collided with a Volkswagen car.

Two people in the VW were injured, including an eight-yearold girl who needed 20 stitches to close a cut to her forehead. The girl’s father broke a finger. Witnesses estimated the speed of the Mazda at 80 to 120 km/h. The speed limit is 50.

The driver of the Genesis was charged with stunt driving.

Henning testified she was driving “with the flow of traffic” and was not racing.

To prove dangerous driving, the Crown must show her conduct was a “marked departure” from what a reasonable person would do.

“It appears that perhaps more care should have been taken but the real question is: Is it a marked departure?” defence lawyer Darwin Witmer said.

Why Henning’s car wound up in opposing traffic isn’t clear, he said, noting there is not enough evidence to conclude she was racing.

“There is not any expert evidence, there’s no accident reconstruction evidence, there is not any speed analysis.”

Witmer said the judge should reject evidence from a motorist who testified he saw the Mazda and Hyundai at an intersection moments before the crash.

“As soon as the light turned green, they were gone,” John Hamilton said.

“Tires were smoking and engines were screaming.”

Dean said the judge does not have to conclude Henning was racing to find her driving was a “marked departure.”

Latimer will deliver his judgment on July 26.