Man who mistakenly took sleeping pills had requisite mens rea for impaired driving conviction: court

A man who decided to “power through the day” after accidentally consuming sleeping pills had the necessary mens rea to be convicted of impaired driving, the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia said.

Friday’s ruling upheld a judgment by a Nova Scotia trial court, which noted that after becoming aware he had mistakenly taken the sleeping pills, Patrick Joseph Eagan “did not recalibrate any of his decision making. He went on to take his citalopram at the same dosage he did every morning. He planned to power through. He did not consult or seek advice from a medical professional on what had just transpired and he planned to drive to work in the normal course.”

The trial judge added, “When looking at the full picture, including Mr. Eagan's testified knowledge about zopiclone and its risks, it reflects acts of recklessness and ignores his knowledge of the risks.”

The Supreme Court dismissed the defendant’s appeal.

In 2022, Eagan woke up and accidentally took double the prescribed dosage of the sleeping pill Zopiclone instead of his daily prescribed tablets of Citalopram, an antidepressant.

Eagan testified that after he discovered he’d taken the wrong medication, he thought he could drink coffee and get through the day, including driving to work. He said he then took his regular dose of Citalopram because he was afraid he would be even more tired without it and proceeded to black out.

According to Eagan, he had no recollection of deciding to leave the house or drive. His next memory followed an accident where he hit a vehicle in front of him.

At trial, the judge accepted that Eagan had mistakenly taken the Zopiclone but rejected his argument that he did not know the sleeping pills would impair his ability to drive since he had also testified that he knew the risks of taking the medication.

The judge found that the Crown had proved the actus reus of impaired driving beyond a reasonable doubt and also met the mens rea standard.

“This is not a scenario where Mr. Eagan was unaware that he mistakenly consumed the wrong prescription,” the judge said.

“Before Mr. Eagan even left his home, he was aware of what drug he had taken, that it was twice the dosage, he knew it was a prescribed sleeping pill, he had taken it in the morning versus as prescribed before bed, and he testified to his prior understanding of the effects of zopiclone on the ability to drive. It is with this knowledge that Mr. Eagan proceeded to drive.”

Justice Scott Norton agreed with the trial judge, writing that he was “satisfied that the evidence before the trial judge is reasonably capable of supporting the trial judge’s conclusions.

“The trial judge committed no error of law. No miscarriage of justice results,” Scott added.

The Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service declined to comment on Monday. Eagan could not be reached for comment.