A young victim who survived a deadly Saskatoon drunk driving collision that killed two people, including her best friend, is now in court to face her own more recent charge of impaired driving.

Kara Mitsuing, 21, has pleaded guilty to driving drunk in Saskatoon on April 5, 2018.

According to four 911 calls made by alarmed and rattled drivers that night — calls that were played Wednesday in Saskatoon Provincial Court — Mitsuing swerved erratically, nearly rear-ended two other vehicles, drove through a work site and ignored civilians' calls for her to stop.

"She's out of control," said one caller to the police.

The two front tires on her Ford Explorer were blown out during the incident, and Mitsuing had a blood alcohol content of 0.18, well above the legal limit of 0.08.

"There was a very high risk of danger to the public," Crown lawyer Kristin MacLean said. "It's fortunate there was no collision."

Court also heard that an intoxicated Mitsuing was arrested just last month for breaching the conditions of her undertaking. MacLean said Mitsuing tried to start a car until others stopped her. Mitsuing has pleaded guilty to that offence too.

Next steps

Mitsuing's court appearance Wednesday focused on the legal repercussions of her actions and laid the groundwork for any treatment she may be court-ordered to receive by the judge.

The Crown is asking that Mitsuing pay a $1,500 fine, not be allowed to drive for one year following her sentencing and be placed on probation for one year. The Crown is also calling for Mitsuing to participate in addictions assessment, counselling or education.

Under questioning from MacLean, Mitsuing said she does not currently have an alcohol problem but said she does suffer from anxiety and depression. A psychiatric assessment also found she suffers from survivor's guilt.

'I want to just live [a] normal day'

In May 2014, while in her mid-teens, Mitsuing was in a vehicle travelling on Saskatoon's 22nd Street when it was broadsided by a stolen truck. The driver of the truck, Cheyann Peeteetuce, was drunk and fleeing police.

Two other occupants, J.P. Haughey and Mitsuing's best friend Sarah Wensley, died instantly. The crash initially left Mitsuing unable to walk, she said, and dashed her hopes of being an athlete.

Sarah Wensley and J.P. Haughey. (Submitted)

"I was broken," Mitsuing said, adding that she felt guilty about surviving the 2014 crash and that grief over the incident fuelled her past drinking.

Mitsuing is now enrolled in a kinesiology program at the University of Regina and wants to become a physiotherapist — eager, she told the court, to make a fresh start in a new city.

"I want to just live [a] normal day," she said.

Mitsuing, right, seen here in a high school photo with her best friend Sarah Wensley, left, said the May 2014 crash dashed her hopes of being an athlete. (Facebook)

Mitsuing's lawyer, Ron Piche, is arguing for a curative discharge, which means Mitsuing's April 2018 drunk driving offence would not go on a criminal record. She has no prior record.

A curative discharge is a provision that no longer exists under new federal impaired driving laws but that is still available to Mitsuing given the April 2018 date of her offence.

Mom a key emotional support

In her questioning of Mitsuing, MacLean repeatedly tried to gauge what sort of treatment and support Mitsuing intends to seek moving forward. MacLean pointed out that Mitsuing previously had a pattern of seeing psychologists only to break away from their treatment.

Mitsuing said the university offers counselling to students under stress and that her mother would be her first call if she felt pressured to drink.

"She'll tell me every mistake I made and that just slaps me back into reality," Mitsuing said of her mother.

Mitsuing said she is also open to using a relapse prevention program.

Judge Morris Baniak will decide on Mitsuing's application for a curative discharge at a later date.

Mitsuing is banned from driving in the meantime.