A crown attorney vigorously challenged an Alliston man's claim that he was "sleep driving" when a road worker was struck and killed on June 20, 2014.
Marcello Fracassi, 33, testified he has no memory of the crash that claimed the life of Geoff Gaston, a married father and volunteer firefighter who was hit while painting parking lines in downtown Alliston.
Fracassi, a married father of four and self-employed painter, has pleaded not guilty to seven charges including impaired driving causing death and fleeing the scene of a collision.
Court has heard Fracassi was out with friends at a rock concert and a strip club that evening and remembers having some beers and alcohol but says he has no memory of visiting the strip club or his drive home.
"Is it possible you just fell asleep? That this is not sleep driving?" asked Alexander.
"That's possible however I don't remember anything leading up to it," Fracassi replied.
"You don't know if you were sleep driving because you have no memory," Alexander said during her cross-examination.
"That's true," replied Fracassi.
Francassi has testified he was suffering from a number of health issues including memory gaps, blackouts, sleep walking and fainting spells.
Alexander accused Fracassi of only focussing on sleep walking after he was charged with Gaston's death.
"Once you were charged with the death that's when you started to take it seriously?" she asked.
"I would say that is definitely the most horrible side effect that has happened from it," replied Fracassi.
Fracassi testified that leading up to Gaston's death, he sometimes drank up to ten ounces of gin two to three times a week from a 26 ounce bottle he had hidden in his basement.
"You drank so much you blacked out," said Alexander.
"That's one possibility," replied Fracassi.
"The other possibility you want us to believe is that you were sleep-drinking and sleep-driving," Alexander shot back.
Alexander quoted from a doctor's report where Fracassi stated he had dozed off on about a dozen occasions while driving but has never actually fallen asleep.
"You dozed off and hit Mr. Gaston" Alexander charged.
"No Ms. Alexander," replied Fracassi.
"How can you say that when you have no memory?" she retorted.
Fracassi testified that he would argue with his wife and pee in random places while sleep walking and have no memory of it in the morning.
"How can you say your lack of memory has nothing to do with drinking in the basement?" Alexander asked.
Fracassi's wife Rachel took the stand Wednesday afternoon and insisted her husband's drinking had nothing to do with his blackouts, memory gaps and bizarre behaviour because she says he's not drinking now and the it still happens.
"You just want to believe he is not drinking anymore," said Alexander.
"I do believe that," replied Rachel.
At one point during her evidence, Mrs. Fracassi recounted one time recently where her husband was "sleep-texting" her and had no memory of doing it.
