Stock photo: Tequila shots being served
The defense lawyers for Ann Senack have presented new evidence on trial. Senack is a former server at Shooters Bar & Grill in Calabogie, Ontario and has been charged with two counts of criminal negligence causing death and two counts of criminal negligence causing bodily harm.
The OPP charged Senack after a single vehicle collision in October of 2017 that killed two and seriously injured two others. Senack served five 18-year-old hockey players from Renfrew before four of them drove off and crashed along Calabogie Road, only about 400-meters from the intersection in Burnstown.
On the first day of trial, Assistant Crown Attorney Richard Morris, told the court they expect to prove how Ms. Senack served the individuals passed the point of intoxication, how her actions directly contributed to the deaths and injuries of the four young men and that her behaviour rose to the level of criminal negligence.
None of the charges have been proven in court.
On Friday (April 16th, 2021), defense lawyers Michael Edelson and Tony Paciocco had the opportunity to cross examine some of the crowns witnesses. Photo evidence of the scene of the crash, drink menus from Shooters Bar & Grill and every drink served the night in question was examined.
The defense team for Senack argued the 51 drinks served to the five teenagers only worked out to 25.53 standard drinks. The individuals were at the bar for about 2-hours and not all of them consumed the same amount of alcohol.
The defense lawyers argued less alcohol had been consumed since the beers were only 4% (instead of the 5% laid out in the Smart Serve Manual) and Shooters Bar & Grill uses 1 ounce shot glasses (instead of the 1.5 ounce shot glasses laid out in the Smart Serve Manual).
On camera, the five young men can be seen drinking two pitchers of beer, four bottles of beer, five Rum and Coke, two Caesars, 21 Polar Bear shots, two Porn Star shots, three Burt Reynolds shots and four shots of tequila in a 2-hour time period.
DEFENSE LAWYERS USE SMART SERVE MANUAL FOR COUNTING DRINKS TO ESTABLISH THE FOLLOWING NUMBERS
- 2 pitchers of beer at 4% alcohol (Coors Light) equals eight standard drinks.
- 4 bottles of beer at 4% alcohol (Bud Light) equals 3.2 standard drinks.
- 5 Rum and Coke at 40% alcohol (Bacardi Rum) equals 3.3 standard drinks.
- 2 Caesars at 40% alcohol (Smirnoff Vodka) equals 1.33 standard drinks.
- 21 Polar Bears at 15% alcohol (made with Crème de Cacao and Crème de Menthe using a one ounce shot glass) equals 5.25 standard drinks.
- 2 Porn Stars at 15% alcohol (made with Blue Curaçao and Raspberry Sour Puss using a one ounce shot glass) works out to 0.5 standard drinks.
- 3 Burt Reynolds at 25% alcohol (made with Spiced Rum and Butter Ripple Schnapps using a one ounce shot glass) equals 1.25 standard drinks.
- 4 shots of tequila at 40% alcohol (Sauzo Gold Tequila, using a one ounce shot glass) equals 2.67 standard drinks.
It took the defense team almost half an hour to add up and double check all the numbers in court with the help of a calculator.
The crown witness, Enrico DeFrancesco, who is a previous bartender, nightclub manager, Algonquin College professor and former Smart Serve instructor told the court that servers are not trained to do such detailed calculations for counting drinks. DeFrancesco says servers are trained to treat a 4% beer or a one ounce shot as a standard drink, even though the manual references 5% for beer and 1.5 ounces for shots. DeFrancesco added one ounce shot glasses are more commonly used.
The defense lawyers for Ms. Senack also told the court they expect to prove how some of the young men left the bar for a smoke break and went to drink at their vehicle before returning to drink more inside the establishment.
Photos of the scene of the crash showed beer bottles and cans spread out across the roadway. Another photo showed a 15 pack of Bud Light and what appears to be a crushed Budweiser beer can on the floor on the front passenger side of the smashed up vehicle.
The first week of trial has concluded with two more weeks scheduled. Court proceedings will resume on Monday, April 26th, 2021.
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