A tragic trial where a teenager was charged in the death of his friend is wrapping up in a Barrie court.
Noah Poisson, who was 19 at the time of the crash, is charged with drunk driving causing the death of his friend Parker Pautsch, 19, of Hawstone. He pleaded not guilty.
The Crown alleges on the night of August 15, 2016 Poisson was driving with twice the legal limit of alcohol in his blood, with Pautsh in the passenger seat, when the truck somehow went off the road. The court heard the truck became air-born, tumbled down a ditch, crossed over a creek and rolled several times before coming to a stop in a field off of Oro-Medonte Line 13 .
The court heard Pautsch was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the truck. The truck then landed on top of him and he was killed instantly. Poisson, who was wearing a seatbelt, was taken to hospital with minor injuries.
The Crown called several witnesses during the trial. The first witness at the scene testified Poisson was agitated and in a panicked state. The witness said Poisson was calling out and desperately looking for his friend in the darkness.
“He asked me not to call 911, because he knew he was in trouble,” said Jason Mawdsley, a major with the Canadian Airforce based in Winnipeg. He also testified Poisson smelled of alcohol and he asked to borrow his cell phone to call his Dad. Mawdsley said he overheard Poisson speaking with his father saying: “I really f---ked up … I had an accident.”
The Crown also called medical experts who testified Poisson’s blood-alcohol reading at the time of the crash would have been between 129 and 164 – well over the legal limit of 80.
Inger Buyra with the Center of Forensic Sciences testified at the trial.
“In my opinion, driving becomes impaired at 50,” she said.
Buyra said both the American Medical Association and the Canadian Medical Association concur that driving becomes impaired when a person reaches 50 milligrams of alcohol per in 100 litres of blood.
Closing arguments are set to begin on Friday.
