Lawyers trying to resolve charges from July 2022 crash in Lower Economy, N.S.

A Lower Economy woman’s 20 charges from a crash in her Colchester County community last summer have made it to Nova Scotia Supreme Court.

But the Crown attorney assigned to the file says it’s unlikely Lindsay Anne Parker’s case will ever go to trial.

Parker was allegedly driving a car that collided with an SUV on Highway 2 on July 24, 2022, at about 3:45 p.m. She was one of seven people injured in the crash.

The 38-year-old woman faces two counts of criminal negligence causing bodily harm and six counts each of impaired driving causing bodily harm, causing bodily harm by driving with a blood alcohol level above the legal limit and dangerous driving causing bodily harm.

Parker has elected to be tried in Supreme Court by a judge alone. She was supposed to have a preliminary inquiry in Truro provincial court Aug. 23 but waived her right to the hearing and agreed to be sent on to Supreme Court.

She was scheduled to be arraigned in Supreme Court in Truro on Tuesday, but defence lawyer David Green did not show up.

Crown attorney Thomas Kayter asked that the arraignment be adjourned for a couple of weeks to allow for further discussions about a possible resolution.

“This is not expected to be on track for trial,” Kayter told Justice Jeffrey Hunt. “We’ve had a resolution conference (in provincial court), and there’s a lot of consultation that follows such a resolution conference in a case like this.

“There are many aggrieved parties. … Mr. Green and I have had a lot of discussion on this matter.”

The judge adjourned the case until Sept. 19.

RCMP, firefighters and paramedics responded to the crash, which involved a Hyundai Kona and a Buick LeSabre that were travelling in opposite directions.

A passenger in the Kona, a 55-year-old man from Montreal, suffered life-threatening injuries and was airlifted to hospital by LifeFlight, RCMP said. 

The driver and another passenger, a 65-year-old man and a 59-year-old man, both from Bible Hill, suffered serious injuries and were transported to hospital by paramedics. The third passenger, a 55-year-old woman from Montreal, had minor injuries.

Two of the occupants in the LeSabre, a 37-year-old woman and a child, were seriously injured, and another child sustained minor injuries. All three were from Lower Economy and were taken to hospital by paramedics.

A collision reconstructionist attended the scene to gather evidence. RCMP obtained judicial authorizations to collect blood and medical records relating to the driver of the LeSabre. The driver’s blood was sent away for analysis to determine the concentration of alcohol or drugs in her blood.

In December, RCMP received the completed blood analysis and learned that the driver’s blood alcohol concentration at the time of the collision allegedly exceeded the legal limit.

Parker was arrested Dec. 21 and released on conditions after she appeared in provincial court the next day.