Failure To Survive

"The trauma would have led to bleeding and with bleeding there would have been an inability for the circulation to continue. Because of that, enough blood would not be able to reach the vital organs and that would have resulted in death."
Pathologist Jacqueline Parai

Pathologist Dr. Parai has testified in the impaired-driving-causing-death trial of Pembroke dentist Christy Natsis that the 50-year-old victim of Ms. Natsis' inebriated driving died of "multiple trauma". Bryan Casey suffered 11 broken ribs on his chest's left side, and eight on the right, and a rib in his back. His spine and left thigh were broken, his sternum and pelvis fractured; his liver suffered tears both inside and out.

There were tears sustained to his abdominal cavity and his chest wall. There was extensive bruising to his chest, abdomen, arm, thigh and lungs. 700 ml of blood was pooled in his chest cavity, the pathologist said. The bruising to chest, abdomen arm, thigh and lungs would not have caused this unfortunate man's death. But the multiple, morbid trauma otherwise suffered most certainly did.

The attending doctor a the hospital the night of the event, doing his very best, was unable to save the man's life. He failed to survive. Ms. Natsis has pleaded not guilty to impaired driving, driving with a blood-alcohol level over the legal limit, and dangerous driving, all of which caused the death of this man.

Ms. Natsis's defence lawyer insists that any incriminating evidence gathered by police was unlawfully obtained, and should be set aside.

Her charter rights, he insists, were ignored, thus making any evidence gathered illegal. Not irrelevant, most certainly not, as the evidence is starkly incriminating, but 'illegal'. On the merest of technicalities, that her 40-minute telephone conversation with an initial consulting lawyer which took place in a hospital washroom while inebriated, was 'interrupted' by the arresting OPP officer.

Ms. Natsis' lawyer, moreover, insists that it be noted that the victim in this affair was himself under the influence of alcohol as demonstrated by a sample of Mr. Casey's blood taken during the autopsy. There was a reading of 145 mg of ethanol per 100 ml of blood. In contrast, Ms. Natsis blood-alcohol level was two and a half times the legal limit, with readings of 198 and 211 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood.

It is well enough known that some people, usually males, are better at sustaining normal levels of attention and behaviour than others who have imbibed alcohol.  Mr. Casey's blood alcohol level did not cause his death. It did not cause the accident. Mr. Casey was certainly driving in his own lane, when Ms. Natsis veered out of her traffic lane and made directly for him, travelling in the opposite direction.

Her vehicle hit his when she was travelling at the speed of 140 to 150 kl/h.

"He tries to avoid her. She veers into his lane. Head-on impact", wrote Dr. Parai in her notes.

 

Court evidence photos from the trial of Pembroke dentist Christy Natsis show the fatat accident scene in the WB lane of Hwy. 417 outside of Ottawa on March 31, 2011.    Credits: QMI AGENCY