The judge rejected Gordon Rumbles’ claim he drank unknowingly because he was suffering from the effects of low blood sugar
An Alberta man has been found guilty of dangerous and impaired driving in a fatal crash three years ago, after a B.C. Supreme Court judge rejected his claim that he had been drinking that day because he was suffering from low blood sugar.
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Gordon Kent Rumbles admitted that on the evening of Nov. 6, 2021, he was driving a pickup truck and trailer that crossed the centre line on the Trans-Canada Highway near Sicamous and crashed head-on with another pickup.
Shaun Stacey Michael was killed, while Rumbles was seriously injured when he was hurled through the windshield.
Smith accepted the Crown’s argument that Rumbles had drank voluntarily and not because of “non-mental disorder automatism,” and found Rumbles guilty on three counts related to the crash.
Witnesses reported seeing Rumbles driving erratically before the crash, including a woman who had a brief exchange with him at the roadside who thought he was unfit to drive and might be experiencing a stroke. He sped off before she had a chance to stop him, and she called 911.
“All the witnesses who dealt with Mr. Rumbles at the collision scene said he appeared confused,” said Smith. Police officers found two empty cans of White Claw hard seltzer in the pickup and two unopened cans still attached to a six-pack holder, along with a three-quarters empty bottle of Absolut Raspberri vodka and two unopened bottles of wine.
A paramedic who treated Rumbles shortly after the crash took a reading of his blood glucose level at 9.3, a value that did not concern her. Readings between four and seven are considered normal, while those below four or into the teens are considered problematic, according to testimony from the two paramedics who assessed Rumbles.
Rumbles told one of the paramedics he was an insulin-dependent diabetic, a diagnosis he received in 2005 and for which he had been self-administering a long-acting insulin injection daily and taking medication since a near-fatal medical episode in 2018.
An analysis of his blood taken nearly three hours after the crash showed he had about 186 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millimetres of blood, more than double the legal limit of 80 mg. The analyst estimated Rumble’s impairment at the time of the crash would have been nearly triple the limit.
Rumbles testified that he ate his last meal in the late afternoon of the day before the crash, and self-injected insulin early that evening before going to bed. He said he then planned to drive from his home in Thorsby, Alta., to a family cottage on Mabel Lake near Enderby, B.C., a trip he’d taken many times.
He woke up and, after a coffee but no breakfast, set out for the long drive. He packed his insulin but not a blood glucose monitor. Rumbles said he stopped for gas in Valemount and bought the seltzers, vodka and wine.
He claimed he “began experiencing flu-like symptoms” soon after resuming the drive. He drank a couple of seltzers but said his symptoms continued to worsen. He claimed to remember nothing that happened in the ensuing hours before he was found lying on the road near Sicamous after the crash.
A diabetes expert who listened to Rumbles’ testimony said hypoglycemia, or low blood glucose, can have symptoms ranging from feeling sick to, at dangerously low levels, gross motor dysfunction, seizure and even death.
He said someone experiencing the onset of hypoglycemia could mistake the symptoms for other things if the symptoms develop slowly. But he rejected the idea that drinking a couple of hard seltzers would lower blood sugar to a problematic level.
Though Rumbles had no criminal record and appeared to be a credible witness, the judge viewed as false his claims that he might have drunk excessively because he was confused and didn’t know the risks or symptoms of low blood sugar.
Having ruled as fact that Rumbles knew about low blood sugar, the judge said Rumbles should have known not eating all day and drinking alcohol despite feeling unwell were ample reason for him to realize he should stop driving because he was a danger on the roads.
Though the diabetes expert said it’s possible Rumbles was hypoglycemic that afternoon, he also said his state as described by witnesses could also have been due to severe intoxication. The judge said based on the expert opinion, “I find as a fact that Mr. Rumbles did not experience moderate or severe hypoglycemia in the early afternoon hours” before the crash.
Because the expert knew little of Rumbles’ habits or medical history, the judge also gave “very little weight” to the idea he drank vodka without intending to, or that he was in a state of moderate or severe hypoglycemia that would have made him oblivious to the danger of doing so.