The impaired driving trial of a prominent Pembroke dentist is underway, more than a year and a half after a deadly crash near Arnprior.
Christy Natsis appeared in Ottawa court Tuesday to face charges of impaired driving causing death and criminal negligence causing death.
She’s accused of being behind the wheel of a vehicle involved in a head-on collision on Highway 17 which killed Bryan Casey, a 50-year-old father of three, on March 31, 2011.
Tuesday’s testimony centred on the Crazy Horse Bar and Grill in Kanata, where it’s believed Natsis spent time with another man leading up to the crash.
Waitress Laura Bateman said she served the woman two glasses of wine but didn’t recall if she actually drank them.
Bateman said in her opinion, the woman wasn’t intoxicated, a belief that clashes with the testimony of witness Mersiha Mesic.
“She looked intoxicated to me, she was stumbling and not walking properly,” she said of what she allegedly saw in the parking lot. “I’ve seen drunk people before and she fit the mold.”
Mesic said that woman got into the driver’s side while a man stayed outside of it, apparently arguing.
She said the woman then took off, hitting another car in the parking lot.
“I heard a large crash, I turned around . . . and saw the vehicle had hit another car,” Mesic testified. “I ran after the car to at least get close and say ‘Don’t drive.’”
Mesic said she decided to call police about what she saw after hearing news reports of a fatal crash the next day.
Natsis’ defence lawyer Michael Edelson then used his cross-examination time to question Mesic’s long-term memory and credibility.
The trial is being held in Ottawa because Natsis is so well-known in the Pembroke community.
With a report from CTV Ottawa’s Catherine Lathem
