Trial is underway for the former bartender at Shooters Bar & Grill in Calabogie who has been charged with two counts of criminal negligence causing death and two counts of criminal negligence causing bodily harm. None of the charges have been proven in court.
Ann Senack who was 62-years-old at the time, pleaded not guilty to the charges this morning (April 12th, 2021).
The incident in question took place on Wednesday, October 26th into Thursday, October 27th of 2017. In the early morning hours of October 27th, the Renfrew OPP responded to a single vehicle collision on Calabogie Road that killed two and seriously injured two others. Police say alcohol contributed to the crash and an investigation determined the vehicle was travelling northbound when it left the roadway and struck a rock cut.
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.
Brandon Hanniman, the driver of the vehicle, died at the scene and Alexander (Alex) Paquette succumbed to his injuries in hospital. Benjamin Komorowski-Scheuneman and Jacob McGrimmon, their teammates on the Renfrew Timberwolves junior hockey team, were seriously injured. All four males were 18-years-old at the time of the crash. A fifth individual who was at the bar with them the night of the crash, Alexander Markus, left separately from the others and was uninjured.
Three time-stamped video clips, roughly 45 minutes each, were entered in as evidence today. The clips were from a camera inside Shooters Bar & Grill and another from what appears to be the parking lot.
On camera, the five young men can be seen entering the bar around 9:44pm. The video shows the bartender, Ms. Senack, sit down and talk to the teenagers, go check something behind the bar, return and continue talking for about six minutes before getting serving the first round of shots and pitchers.
Within the first half hour of them being at the bar, three rounds of shots, two pitchers, mixed drinks and some food had been served (roughly from 9:50 pm to 10:10 pm).
Between 10:40pm and 11:15pm another five rounds of shots had been served, combined with individual beers and other mixed drinks.
Around 11:10pm, one of the young men can be seen sitting with his elbows on the bar and both hands holding the back of his head, just two minutes before getting served.
After another round of beers, the one individual who was not in the vehicle when it crashed, could be seen leaving (approximately 11:30pm).
The other four stayed a bit longer, doing another shot at 11:40pm, only eight minutes before the car was seen leaving the parking lot at Shooters Bar & Grill.
In the two hours the teenagers were at the bar, it appears nine shots were served up in addition to the mixed drinks, pitchers and other single beer bottles.
The trial will likely last 3-weeks separate weeks stretching into May of 2021. The first witness is expected to testify tomorrow when court resumes.