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Probation for a woman passed out from fentanyl while in the driver seat

March 21, 2022

Blake Ellis/Local Journalism Initiative

“You have no business being in the driver seat of a motor vehicle, never mind one that is running,” said Judge Krista Leszczynski to a 26 year-old Corunna woman who was driving while high on fentanyl and passed out in a twice.

Katherine Gibbs was in the driver seat of a vehicle which struck a parked car in St. Clair Township on Oct. 13, 2020. She took her foot off the brake and her car did a slow roll into the other vehicle.

Two tinfoil wrappers with fentanyl were on the passenger seat. Her eyes were blood shot, her speech was slow and slurred and she had trouble opening her eyes when paramedics arrived. 

Gibbs was again high on fentanyl, passed out in the driver seat of an SUV in Chatham-Kent on October 29, 2020. Like the first time, the vehicle was in gear. 

She plead guilty to both counts of impaired driving by drug in Sarnia court on March 2. She was fined $3,600 and will be on probation for one year. 

“I am very concerned when I hear about circumstances like this,” said Leszczynski. “The danger you posed was very real.”

“I am not going down this path again,” said Gibbs. She is in addictions counselling as a condition of probation. 

The Local Journalism Initiative supports the creation of original civic journalism that covers the diverse needs of underserved communities across Canada.

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