Niganobe drank beer, wine prior to collision

An Ontario Provincial Police accident reconstructionist who testified in the Jeanette Niganobe trial last week, returned to the stand today.

Under cross-examination by defence counsel Eric McCooeye, Constable Tom Carscadden described procedures used to reconstruct the May 14, 2006, collision between a van driven by Niganobe and a City Police 'stealth' cruiser.

The crash resulted in the death of Sault Ste. Marie Police Service Constable Don Doucet.

During testimony, Carscadden said it was impossible to know whether the cruiser’s lights were on at the time of the collision near the bottom of the McNabb Street hill.

He also confirmed that the vehicles collided at right angles to each other.

In other testimony today, Leonard Elie said Niganobe and her boyfriend, Derek McCoy, drank beer and wine while visiting his Princeton Drive home during the evening of May 13, 2006.

Niganobe has been charged with impaired driving causing death and bodily harm, and operating a vehicle while having a blood-alcohol level exceeding the legal limit.

The trial will resume Tuesday morning.