Driver admits she was drunk in high-speed crash

Mother visiting from Iran paralyzed after car rear-ended

An Edmonton driver admitted Tuesday she drunkenly drove backward down Rabbit Hill Road, smashed through a bus shelter and soon after caused a high-speed crash that paralyzed a woman.

Gabrielle Hampel’s bloodalcohol level was twice the legal limit when she got behind the wheel of her Audi on June 30, 2014, after drinking while watching a World Cup soccer game, according to an agreed statement of facts.

Around 6:45 p.m., Hampel was driving in reverse “at a high rate of speed” along Rabbit Hill Road, headed east in the westbound lane. Still in reverse, she rocketed over a grassy median and crashed into a Edmonton Transit System bus shelter that exploded upon impact, Crown prosecutor Mark Fernandes told court.

No one was near the bus shelter at the time.

Hampel then shifted her Audi from reverse to drive, got back on Rabbit Hill Road and started driving in the proper direction.

At least one of her tires was flat after the bus shelter collision, but Hampel still managed to reach speeds of 75 km/h.

She was still driving that fast when she crashed into the back of a Toyota Corolla stopped for a red light at the intersection of Rabbit Hill Road and Terwillegar Drive.

“The accused made no attempt to slow down, let alone stop, for this red light,” Fernandes said.

“Her foot was still on the gas and the revving of the engine of her vehicle was noticed by witnesses in the area.”

An investigation determined the Audi’s steering and brakes worked fine even after the bus shelter crash.

The impact pushed the Toyota Corolla ahead 10 metres and injured all three people inside. Zahra Hedayatzadeh, 59, was sitting in the back seat.

She was paralyzed from the waist down when the Corolla’s trunk was forced forward into the interior. Court heard she will never walk again.

Hedayatzadeh had arrived in Edmonton from Iran only a day earlier to visit her son. Both her husband and son suffered head injuries in the crash. They have since recovered.

Hampel was not seriously injured in the crash. She pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing bodily harm. She is not in custody.

A sentencing hearing has not been scheduled.