Drunk driver with two kids in car was five times over legal limit

A woman who police say was arrested for driving drunk with two young children in the backseat of her car has been released on bail. Jennifer Ann Sims of Cole Harbour appeared in Dartmouth provincial court Monday facing charges of impaired driving, driving while disqualified and breach of probation.

The 36-year-old was released on a $3,000 recognizance and personal surety.

Simms was arrested Sunday after an RCMP officer noticed a vehicle stopped in the middle of the Forest Hills Parkway around noon.

“He went by and looked in the rearview mirror and he still didn’t see the car move, thought it was odd,” said Cpl. Scott MacRae. “The driver was having difficulty moving the vehicle. There was some grinding of the gears.”

MacRae said during the ensuing investigation, the driver provided breath samples indicating a blood alcohol content of more than five times the legal limit.

More worrying, MacRae said, was the fact that an eight-month old baby and 13-year-old child were in the vehicle.

“You’re endangering very young peoples’ lives, as well as other drivers or maybe pedestrians on the roadways,” he said.

Sims was sentenced in September 2012 for a charge of refusing a breathalyzer and a separate count of failing a breathalyzer. She’d pleaded guilty to both.

The Atlantic Region spokesperson for MADD Canada said it’s an “alarming” case that the courts must consider carefully.

“The courts need to look at this person and the pattern of behaviour,” said Susan MacAskill. “There should be some assessment of her dependency on alcohol to determine what contributes to this type of behaviour.”

Nova Scotia enacted legislation in 2013 that imposes tougher penalties on anyone convicted of impaired driving with a child under the age of 16 in their vehicle.

Drivers lose their license for an extra year, and must participate in the Alcohol Interlock Ignition Program to have their licence restored.