JUSTICEJOLT©

Ontario’s highest court has dismissed the appeal of the 2015 impaired driving causing death conviction of 53-year-old Dr. Christy Natsis, a dentist from Pembroke, Ont.

In May 2015, after a 55-day trial that stretched over three years, Ontario Court Justice Neil Kozloff found Natsis guilty of impaired driving causing death and dangerous driving causing death, as well as breaching bail conditions when she bought two bottles of vodka about eight months after the crash.

Kozloff ruled that Natsis was drunk when the SUV she was driving crossed the centre line on Highway 17 near Arnprior, Ont., and crashed head-on into a pickup truck driven by Bryan Casey on March 31, 2011.

Casey, who was 50 at the time, later died of his injuries. He left behind his wife, LeeEllen Carroll, and their three children.

Carroll and representatives of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) are expected to give a statement outside the Ottawa courthouse on Elgin Street at about 3 p.m. today.

In November 2015 Kozloff sentenced Natsis to five years in prison, plus an additional 40 days for breaching the bail conditions.

She served the 40-day sentence, then was released on bail under strict conditions after filing an appeal. She and her new legal team Marie Henein and Matthew Gourlay sought an acquittal or a new trial, arguing that Kozloff made the questionable legal decision to allow the testimony of a biased expert witness who gave technically flawed evidence.

The appeal was heard in Toronto in November 2017.

CBC.ca