Drunk driving charges laid after Calgary fatal pedestrian collision

A 23-year-old man has been charged with drunk driving causing death in relation to a July 2022 collision in Calgary’s Huntington Hills neighbourhood.

At around 2 a.m., on July 28, 2022, a car collided with a pedestrian along 4 Street N.E. between the two entrances to Huntstrom Drive N.E.

Police said a woman was skateboarding in the southbound lane of 4 Street when a 2005 silver Infiniti M35X sedan being driven by a man in his 20s with a passenger was also driving south on the same road.

The female pedestrian was struck in the southbound lane by the sedan, a police statement said.

“The vehicle briefly left the roadway, rotating to face backwards and coming to a stop beside the road. The vehicle drove back onto the roadway, and the driver pulled into a neighbouring street and stopped,” the Calgary Police Service said.

The car’s occupants were uninjured and the driver remained at the scene until first responders arrived.

But the woman who had been skateboarding was declared dead at the scene.

In a news release issued Monday, police said they believe alcohol and excessive speed were factors in the crash.

1:41 Woman killed after being struck by vehicle in northeast Calgary

Austin James O’Bray, 23, has been charged with operation of a vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration over 80 milligrams causing death.

O’Bray is due to appear in court on Feb. 13.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, a person with a blood alcohol concentration of 80 milligrams “may have reduced muscle co-ordination, find it more difficult to detect danger and have impaired judgment and reasoning.”

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the police non-emergency line at 403-266-1234. Anonymous tips can be provided to Crime Stoppers.