A London, Ont. courthouse saw no sign of the accused in relation to an explosion that rocked the city’s Old East Village neighbourhood in mid-August.
Daniella Alexandra Leis, 23, of Kitchener was set to make her first court appearance on Wednesday to answer to 12 charges related to the blast, eight of which are impaired driving-related offences.
Instead, defence lawyer Alex Dobson handled Wednesday’s proceedings.
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Leis is being represented by London lawyer Richard Braiden, but Dobson told Global News that he was unable to make it due to a funeral.
Dobson requested a four to six week adjournment in the case.
The crown agreed to a four week adjournment which means Leis’ next hearing is scheduled for Oct. 2. The Highway Traffic Act will also be read during Leis’ next scheduled appearance.
WATCH (Aug. 15, 2019): Aerial video shows extensive damage of London, Ont. gas explosion
The charges stem from an incident that took place in the late hours of Aug. 14 when London police were called to 450 Woodman Ave., a home that sits in the heart of the city’s Old East Village neighbourhood.
There, police learned a vehicle had slammed into the home, striking a gas line, which caused a natural gas leak.
The leak led to a house-levelling explosion that damaged several homes, sent seven people — including six first responders — to hospital and forced the evacuation of nearly 100 homes.
READ MORE: ‘This is the definition of community’ — Hundreds show for Old East Village benefit concert
Less than a week after the devastating blast, benefit concerts were organized for those affected in Old East Village, with tallies showing more than $100,000 had been raised for the cause.