The man accused in the death of 17-year-old Salmon Arm resident, Donovan Pippus, was not drunk when the accident occurred, despite having blood-alcohol levels more than three times the legal limit just hours later.
That was the message from Jean-Paul Kowal’s defence lawyer, Rishi Gill, as the Kelowna man is on trial for impaired driving causing death, dangerous driving causing death and causing an accident resulting in death after a three-vehicle collision on the night of Sept. 1, 2010.
Kowal had been driving from Drayton Valley, Alta. to Kelowna when he hit Pippus’s vehicle head on near Enderby.
Gill argued that Kowal was not intoxicated at the time of the collision but drank alcohol immediately afterward.
Kowal, who testified that he drank three ounces of Peach Schnapps six hours before the collision, denied being drunk when he collided with Pippus’ vehicle, stating that he began drinking after the accident as a way to numb his physical pain and deal with his emotions.
Gill pointed out that only one witness had actually testified that they had seen signs of impairment while Kowal was at the accident scene, and emphasized that none of the police, firemen or paramedics noticed any.
He also verified that Kowal had a five-minute window before emergency professionals arrived on scene and during this time no one was monitoring him.
It was during this period that Kowal says he reached behind his seat, feeling around until he found a bottle of peach schnapps and proceeded to drink two-thirds of the bottle, as well as half a bottle of vodka.
Crown Counsel Angela Ross countered Kowal’s statements by noting he suffered a fracture in his arm during the accident and would not have been able to reach back and grab a bottle due to his injuries, let alone open it, tip it up to drink and then screw the lid on once more.
She also argued that he would not have been able to repeat these actions with a second bottle in only a five-minute period.
Ross suggested to the court that Kowal, who says he is not a heavy drinker, would most likely not have been able to drink 15 to 30 ounces of hard alcohol, straight, in that short of time without getting sick.
Based on photos taken of the backseat of Kowal’s truck, Ross also said it would have been impossible for his description of events to have occurred.
In the photos, the box in which Kowal stated he took the bottles from was buried under multiple items, so he could not simply reach back and grab a bottle.
Kowal had also stated that he had thrown the bottles into the seats behind him when he was finished, however one bottle was recovered from inside the box which was buried under the items, and the other required RCMP to dig around to find it. This, says the Crown, does not indicate items that were simply tossed back.
When police had arrived on the scene Kowal had admitted to drinking the schnapps six hours earlier.
When he was asked to provide a breathalyzer however he refused, stating that due to his injuries he felt that he could not comply. He did agree to provide a blood sample once he arrived at the hospital.
Once at the hospital both police and health care officials did not see signs of intoxication.
It was not until later that nurses reported seeing symptoms associated with sobering up.
Despite multiple accounts from witnesses who say that Kowal was driving recklessly just moments prior to the accident, Gill argued in his closing statements, that these actions were somewhat exaggerated.
While one witness testified that both he and his girlfriend watched as Kowal forced a semi off the road after he drifted into the oncoming lane, and others reported seeing the same type of behaviour, Kowal himself told the court this was not the case.
Kowal admitted to passing on a double solid line near a sharp turn. This he said, was because the driver in front was driving below the speed limit, and he had been waiting for a straight stretch along the winding road to pass.
He denies driving at high speeds, drifting into other lanes and tailgating.
Gill also argued that it wasn’t the act of passing on a double solid that cause accident, and as such, Kowal should not be facing the charge of dangerous driving causing death.
The trial concluded Jan. 29 with the final submissions by the Crown and defence lawyers.
Judge Dev Dley reserved his decision until a later date.
