August 28, 2009
Woman drinks, crashes car, drinks more, then gets naked
Police not impressed, Crown calls for jail time in bizarre case
By MEGAN GILLIS, Sun Media

OTTAWA - The Crown is seeking jail time for a woman who sideswiped a car on Hwy. 174, sparking several collisions, then went to the bar for more drinks before answering the door to police naked.

Anik Bertrand, 34, was convicted of impaired driving and leaving the scene of an accident in connection with the Nov. 17, 2006, incident.

“This is someone who is driving down Ottawa’s busiest highway, knocks a car off the road, pinning them in the car, then goes to a bar to drink some more,” prosecutor John Ramsay said.

Bertrand broadsided a car on the highway at Montreal Rd. around midnight, jamming it into the barrier. The driver and a passenger were trapped.

But Bertrand didn’t stop to help. She kept driving to the Royal Oak on Jeanne D’Arc Blvd.

There she had a number of drinks before driving home in her damaged car — despite being offered a ride by a neighbour — and missing her own driveway.

When three police officers tracked her to her home, she answered the door naked and had to be asked to get dressed.

The debris from the collision caused two other crashes and a police officer saved the life of a city employee who was almost hit by a car while cleaning up debris.

The Crown is asking for 45 to 60 days in jail, $1,200 fine, 18 to 24 months probation and a two-year driving prohibition.

The defence is asking for a four-month conditional sentence.

Bertrand will be sentenced Sept. 11.

CANOE.CA