Abbotsford Police have released a new video detailing one woman’s experience with an impaired driver. What makes the video unusual, is the drunk driver was her.
The video features an unidentified Abbotsford woman, who describes how she got behind the wheel of her car while impaired and caused an accident.
It also details how that impacted her life.
The incident occurred months ago and at the time, the woman expressed remorse and took full responsibility for her actions. She was grateful that the collision did not cause serious injuries or death.
Although her case was long over, she decided to contact the police in July.
“It was really one of those out of the blue phone calls,” said Abbotsford Police Const. Ian MacDonald.
He said the woman called his office with a few questions regarding her situation, but MacDonald could “hear something in her voice” that was different from other callers.
He determined that the penalty phase and the repercussions had run their course as far as the police were concerned.
“But it hadn’t really been worked through for her from an emotional standpoint.”
MacDonald suggested that the driver may want to talk about her experience in order to “work through some of these issues” and turn a bad decision into a good one.
“I was really taken aback by how quickly she agreed.”
In the video, the woman talks about how her decision affected her life.
“I remember having some wine and then the next thing I remember was the impact of the car’s bumper on my front bumper,” she states.
The next day she was supposed to go to work as a driver, but she no longer had a licence.
“I no longer had a job. I could no longer pay my bills. I had rent to pay, I had a car payment … I went into a pretty deep depression for a little while.”
She said life was perfect and then she woke up with nothing. But she also stated that there was no one to blame but herself.
With the long weekend coming up, MacDonald said it seemed like a good time to release the video to the public. There have been several parties over the past few weekends in Abbotsford, involving alcohol and young people.
“We’re assuming it’s some kind of last celebrations before the resumption of the school year. We think the release is timely.”
As for the woman in the video, MacDonald said he hopes this turns out to be a positive decision for her.
The APD has made traffic safety its top priority in 2013. The video is part of its Road Safety public awareness campaign.