Drunk driving charge for mom of kids in train crash

In 2012, their father drove them into the path of a freight train, killing their two sisters.

Now, their mother has been accused of driving drunk with them in the back seat after leaving them unsupervised in the vehicle at night.

Angie Provost, 34, was arrested last week by Chatham-Kent Police after an incident in Tilbury. She is the mother of four children who were passengers in a minivan that collided with a freight train on Strong Road in Lakeshore in June 2012. The minivan’s driver, Andrew Williams, is the children’s father and was Provost’s husband at the time.

Williams is currently serving a six-month jail term after being sentenced in April on two counts of dangerous driving causing the deaths of daughters Wynter, 6, and Brooklyn, 2, and one count of dangerous driving causing bodily harm to son Dryden, who was 3 at the time.

Daughter Jasmine, then 18 months old, survived the crash with only superficial injuries.

The latest incident involving the surviving children occurred on May 18. Chatham-Kent Police say officers were called to a parking lot near Massey Drive and Lyon Street for reports of two young children alone in a vehicle. Neighbours said the children had been honking the car horn for 45 minutes.

The first officer arrived to find the vehicle driving away, climbing a curb. After stopping the vehicle, the officer approached and noticed two children in the back. Police say one of the children was not wearing a seatbelt.

The officer said the female driver had a strong odour of alcohol on her breath, her speech was slurred and she fumbled as she tried to retrieve her driver’s licence and ownership.

Since the driver was alone in the car with the children, a second officer arrived to supervise the children while the first officer attempted to test the woman’s breath for alcohol. The driver was unable to provide a breath sample despite repeated attempts.

Further investigation showed her driver’s licence had been suspended. Police gave no details as to the reason for the suspension.

Provost, 34, who now lives in Tilbury, is charged with failing to provide a breath sample and driving while suspended. She was released pending a future court date.

Police say the children were uninjured in the incident and that they were taken that night to “a place of safety.”

According to information heard at Williams’s criminal trial, Dryden, now 8, suffered permanent physical impairments in the train crash. His surviving sister has no lasting injuries.

Williams was said to suffer from headaches, seizures and memory loss.

Immediately after the crash, a neighbour set up a trust fund for the family, and later, friends and community groups held fundraisers. One event alone raised $9,000.

Then Provost sued CP Rail, the Town of Lakeshore and her husband, claiming $9.1 million in damages. Provost, whose marriage eventually disintegrated, was still married to Williams when she filed her lawsuit and denied he was responsible for the crash.

At her ex-husband’s sentencing hearing, Provost said she was glad Williams was going to jail.