Judge could throw out Delta crash charges

A provincial court judge in Surrey, B.C.,will rule Wednesday on an application to end the trial of a woman charged with being impaired and driving dangerously when her car hit and killeda four-year-oldgirl.

The defence has askedfor the charges against Carol Berner to be stayed because the car she was driving has been scrapped and therefore cannot undergoforensic examination.

Alexa Middelaer was killed and her aunt, Daphne Johnson, was seriously injured in May 2008 when Berner's car left a rural road in Ladner, south of Vancouver, and plowed into the pair while they were feeding a horse by a farm fence.

'Sometimes, the criminal justice system focuses on minutiae' Father ofaccident victim Alexa Middelaer

Lawyer David Tarnow argued Tuesdayhe can't mount a proper defence for Berner, 57, without a chanceto examine the vehicle for mechanical problems that might have contributed to the accident.

Father questions system

The Crown argued that the Insurance Corporation of B.C. informed Berner that it intended to scrap the car months after the incident, before which time she could have had it examined.

But Tarnow told the court there was no proof that Berner ever received the insurance corporation's notice.

Alexa Middelaer's father says he's looking for someone to accept personal responsibility for his daughter's death, but wonders if a courtroom is where that will happen.

"Sometimes the criminal justice system focuses on minutiae versus what's really going on here, what really happened here," said Michael Middelaer.

Judge Peder Gulbransen was scheduled to rule on the defence application Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. PT.