An impaired, prohibited driver, nabbed at the bridge plaza in November, was fined $4,500 on Friday.
Shauna Lyons, 50, pleaded guilty to an over 80 charge and driving while prohibited when she appeared in a Sault Ste. Marie courtroom.
Ontario Court Justice Andrew Buttazzoni heard the Canada Border Service agency at the International Bridge contacted city police on the evening of Nov. 8, 2024.
When officers arrived at Canada Customs at 9:10 p.m., they spoke to a number of CBS agents, prosecutor Stuart Woods said.
Lyons had answered questions in a normal manner when she and a passenger arrived at the booth.
"They kept interrupting each other and appeared nervous," the assistant Crown attorney told the court.
The women had a large quantity of groceries and were directed to secondary inspection.
Noting the odour of alcohol on her breath and in the vehicle, that agent made a breath demand.
Lyons failed and was arrested, Wood said.
She was taken to the city police station where she recorded readings of 210 and 190 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.
The court heard she was prohibited from driving for 18 months following a 2018 conviction.
The prohibition was no longer in effect, but Lyons never renewed her licence and remained a disqualified driver, Woods said.
Lyons had a Michigan driver's licence at the time of the November incident.
Defence lawyer Broqachat Wu and the Crown jointly recommended the $4,500 monetary penalty, plus 18 months probation, and a two-year driving prohibition.
Given the high readings, the over-80 offence calls for a $2,500 fine – the minimum is $2,000 – and a further $2,000 for driving while prohibited, Woods said, noting Lyons "very high readings" and past convictions.
Driving in that condition put herself and others in danger, he added.
Wu said her client has been sober since Nov. 8 and is "extremely remorseful."
She acknowledges she needs help and will benefit from the probation order's counselling conditions, the defence said
"I'm very sorry that it happened again," Lyons told the judge, explaining "drinking and driving was normalized in my family."
She outlined how she would she would quit consuming alcohol, would be OK for a couple of years, "then something triggered me" and there was nobody to help her.
"I don't want to go down that road again and reached out to my doctor," she said.
"I'm not doing it on my own any more."
When Buttazzoni imposed the recommended sentence he told Lyons it's encouraging to hear she realizes she can't do this on her own and needs help from other people.
"Probation is necessary in this case. You recognize your problem and want to address it."
High readings of 210 and 190 indicate someone has been using alcohol for a long time, he said.
With that amount in your system, "alcohol tends to lead you to make a bad decision to get behind the wheel."
Buttazzoni gave her 12 months to pay the fines.