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With Kerr’s dash cam still rolling, the other driver, who is rocking his young child in his arms, turns his back to the woman. She then returns to her car and exits the parking lot to the surprise of the other driver and Kerr, who remained behind.

Toronto police Const. Clint Stibbe confirmed police received a 9-1-1 call from someone in the area who was concerned the woman may be driving impaired. They also recorded in a report that she failed to remain at the scene of the crash. But an investigating officer decided not to charge her.

“It boiled down to the officer being able to make an independent decision regarding charges and they have to be afforded that opportunity to remain effective as a police officer,” Stibbe said. “We need to keep in mind that not every case we investigate results in charges.”

The call about the woman’s driving was placed to police at around 9 p.m. but officers were dispatched only at 9:21 p.m. and arrived in the parking lot where Kerr, the woman and the other driver had once been at 9:35, approximately 15 minutes after all three parties had left. The other driver had left because he wanted to put his child, who was sitting in the back seat during the collision, to sleep.

Police were late to the scene because of another call placed six minutes earlier about multiple people carrying rifles near Lakeshore Boulevard, the constable said. “Although we had the call come in, we didn’t have anyone available to go to the call.”

If police had decided to charge the woman with a hit-and-run, it would be unlikely that they could add a charge of impaired driving without evidence from a breathalyzer or blood test, Stibbe said.

Police have managed to lay impaired driving charges in such cases on the rare occasion, but only with “a mountain of (evidence),” the officer said. Dash-cam footage could be used as evidence, but it isn’t enough on its own, he said.

Even if the woman admitted she was impaired while driving that night, that still wouldn’t be enough, the constable said. “We’d be taking her word for it.”