WESTLOCK — A woman who had a blood-alcohol level more than twice the legal limit while speeding down the highway with her two children as passengers is prohibited from driving for the next year and a half.
At Westlock Court of Justice on April 24, Erin Rachel McNeil pleaded guilty to operating a motor vehicle with more than 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.
Two charges of impaired driving and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, as well as two Traffic Safety Act charges, were withdrawn.
Justice Carrie-Ann Downey sentenced McNeil to a $3,500 fine and gave her until April 24, 2025, to make payment or go to jail for 31 days.
She also sentenced McNeil to an 18-month driving prohibition starting on that same day.
“If you are caught driving under that court-ordered prohibition, even if you are not under the influence, the usual course is that people go to jail for that even on a first offence,” said Justice Downey.
Justice Downey’s sentence was in line with the joint submission from the Crown and defence. She noted she is obligated to go along with the joint submissions unless it is “unhinged” in terms of severity or leniency.
“It is not. It is fit and appropriate and within the range of an acceptable position given the nature of the charge and the aggravating and mitigating factors in this case,” Downey said.
Drunk driving
On April 10 at around 7:35 p.m., an RCMP vehicle heading northbound along Highway 44 near the town of Westlock observed a vehicle driving south at a high rate of speed.
The Crown stated that the officer activated his radar and determined the vehicle was travelling more than 150 km/h in a 100 km/h zone.
The officer conducted a traffic stop of the vehicle, which was being driven by McNeil, and made a mandatory alcohol screening demand. The result was a fail.
After arresting McNeil, the officer learned she did not have a valid driver’s licence; she had previously held one, but it expired in 2009.
The accused had her two children in the vehicle with her, along with the family pet. They were all transported to the Westlock detachment.
Once there, McNeil provided breath samples that determined she had a blood-alcohol level between 200mg/L and 210mg/L.
According to the Crown, the mitigating factors in this case were McNeil’s lack of a criminal record, as well as her guilty plea.
The aggravating factors were her high blood-alcohol level and the presence of her two elementary school-age children, who are now nine and 10 years old.
Defence lawyer Troy McLeod said his client is a 46-year-old stay-at-home mother with a slightly unusual living situation — she stays with her former partner, who is the biological father of her two children, but he has full custody and handles the family expenses.
He said McNeil has a drinking problem that “became worse during COVID,” but has attended treatment in the past. In fact, she went to treatment in May 2023, just after this offence occurred.
Nevertheless, she continues to struggle with this problem and fully acknowledges the seriousness of this situation, he said.
McLeod asked that a victim fine surcharge be waived in this case due to the already considerable financial hardship this fine would place on McNeil. The judge agreed.
When given an opportunity to speak, McNeil said she was sorry that this case “took so long” to resolve.
“It’s awful what I did. I know that. I don’t even know how I’m going to explain it to my kids when they get older,” she said. “I’m just trying to prevent them from ever becoming like me.”
