A primary care paramedic charged in the death of a patient after the ambulance she was driving slammed into a snowplow says she has an “overwhelming sense of survivors’ guilt” that has lingered since the crash that claimed Connie Halverson’s life.
Shani Larrett took the witness stand in provincial offences court Friday, more than two years removed from being charged with careless driving causing death and careless driving causing bodily harm.
Halverson, a 68-year-old woman from White River, Ont., was killed February 20, 2022 when the ambulance she was travelling in as a patient collided with a snowplow approximately 40 kilometres north of Wawa, Ont.
“I had enough time to analyze and say, ‘This is a gust coming from the open area, and I’ll be through it in a second,’ and lift off the accelerator, and that’s it,” said an emotional Larrett to her lawyer, Anthony Orazietti. “I never once thought that the snow was coming from the snowplow.”
Larrett had been driving for about 30 minutes after picking up Halverson at her home in White River, Ont. when she collided with the back of the snowplow. She was driving approximately 105 km/h on a snow-covered Highway 17 up until that point, due to the emergency situation that required Halverson to be seen in hospital.
She added that she had no difficulties operating the vehicle and had good traction throughout. “I felt like I was in control of my vehicle,” she said, adding that she felt “comfortable and confident” driving in those conditions.
The primary care paramedic with nearly a decade of experience thought it would “only take a second to get through,” the blowing snow at the time.
Larrett was extricated from the ambulance and transported to Lady Dunn Health Centre in Wawa, Ont. following the collision. Her physical injuries included a fractured left radial bone and a severe sprain to her right ankle. She believes she had also sustained a concussion, although it wasn’t diagnosed.
Her left arm required having pins installed to secure the break, and months of physiotherapy for both her arm and right ankle.
Larrett has also been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. She told the court Friday that she experiences flashbacks and confusion during stressful moments, and struggles with day-to-day tasks in her life.
Prone to bouts of major depression, Larrett disclosed that she has had thoughts of suicide since the fatal collision that took her patient’s life.
“It has affected every aspect of my life,” she said. “I think about this every day.”
In his cross-examination of Larrett, Crown prosecutor John Recoskie focused on the rate of speed in which the paramedic was travelling at the time of the collision, after Larrett disclosed to the court that she had been operating the ambulance at a speed of 105 km/h in an “emergency situation.”
Recoskie suggested that her reaction time was compromised by the rate of speed, and highlighted the fact that Larrett, by her own admission, did not have to drive on a highway when taking her test for a Class F licence in order to operate an ambulance.
He also noted that she had never been trained to drive at high speeds or had any training to drive at night.
The trial is anticipated to resume later this year.
Both Highway Traffic Act charges carry penalties of $2,000 to a maximum of $50,000 in fines, a maximum of two years imprisonment and a potential licence suspension for five years if convicted.