Woman jailed for drunk driving, causing crash

An Edmonton woman has been sentenced to nine months in jail followed by a three-year driving ban for drunkenly driving the wrong way down Wayne Gretzky Drive and causing a head-on crash with a driver who police believe was also impaired.

Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Rob Graesser said Marguerite Lena Auger’s guilty plea to impaired driving causing bodily harm was one of several factors that convinced him to give her a shorter jail sentence. Auger has also said she stopped drinking alcohol since the crash on Aug. 21, 2009 and is getting help to deal with overuse of prescription painkillers, Graesser said.

Auger, 53, had “an unfortunate past” including a history of abuse and some marginalization, he added.

“I was satisfied Ms. Auger accepted responsibility for the matter,” Graesser said during the sentencing Thursday morning.

“These factors help explain the circumstances. … They do not excuse the offence and the harm that has been done by the wrongful conduct.”

A jail sentence is necessary because Auger has several previous convictions for impaired driving and because the offence was so serious, Graesser said.

Auger was driving her Dodge Neon south in the northbound lanes of Wayne Gretzky Drive shortly after 1:30 a.m. when she crashed into a Pontiac Grand Prix.

The collision left her passenger, a distant cousin, with fractured ribs and a punctured colon.

When police arrived, they first noticed the driver of the Grand Prix appeared to be drunk and arrested him. Blood samples taken later from Auger showed her blood-alcohol level was at least .09.

Auger will likely serve about six months of her nine-month sentence in Fort Saskatchewan, court heard.

Her three-year driving prohibition begins once she is released from jail.