OHTA.ca

My 67 year old mother fell asleep at the wheel last night and ran her car into another parked car. It was around 1am, she called 911, 3 officers and a breath sample later she was charged with careless and a $490.

I'm thankful neither she nor anyone else was hurt, but now she is being told she may loose her insurance or it will double and it's been suggested to me that she should fight it.

Is there any way to do that given she did fall asleep - and admitted to the officer. Her breath sample was well below any warning - she had one glass of wine with her dinner.

Given her limited income and insurance ramifications I'm curious if there is anything she can do,

Suggestions?

Id suggest requesting a pre-trial resolution meeting with the Crown. Quite likely theyll offer your mother some type of plea deal to a lesser offence with a lesser fine and likely much less serious ramifications in terms of insurance.

The other option is to fight the charge outright. If you go that route, Id suggest retaining some type of representation however. Theyd be in a good position to advise if the Crown has a strong case that would be worth the risk of going to trial.