A B.C. court has released video footage of an undercover officer's discussion with Carol Berner about what happened the day she struck and killed a four-year-old girl with her car.
The recorded conversation shows her telling a police officer that she'd been drinking on May 17, 2008, shortly before she crashed her car into little Alexa Middelaer, who was standing on the side of a quiet Delta road.
"(I had) at least three fair-sized glasses, but there was still wine in the bottle," Berner says in the video. "I didn't sit there and drink the whole bottle, but part of it was that I hadn't eaten."
In the undercover footage, Berner says that she lost control of her car and had an anxiety attack.
"I couldn't slow down the car. I went from one side to the other side and I couldn't slow down," she says. "I think that what happened is that I put my foot on the gas, instead of the brake."
During Berner's trial, Surrey provincial court heard details of the 2008 undercover operation nicknamed "Operation Angel," in which an officer befriended Berner over drinks, a Madonna concert and a trip to Vancouver Island.
It was on that trip, six months after the crash, that Berner told the officer a little girl had died in what she described as an accident.
In the videotaped conversation, which was recorded some time later on November 25, 2008, Berner says she's constantly reminded of the crash.
"It's something I'll have to live with for the rest of my life," she says.
She also speculates on the possible sentence she might face, including parole, community service or simply losing her licence.
"I couldn't care less if they took my licence. I wouldn't want to tell them that because they may think they're punishing me taking my licence away," Berner says.
"I can't get behind the wheel because it just freaks me out too much."
Undercover stings like this are usually reserved for murder cases, but criminal lawyer Terry LaLiberte told CTV News that the investigation was probably driven by high public interest in the case.
He also said there could be more to the story than what was capture on tape.
"It comes down to weight. The person could be saying something right there on television and you really don't know what's going on behind the scene, so those type of things are going to become relevant," LaLiberte said.
Judge Peder Gulbransen will announce his verdict in Berner's dangerous and impaired driving trial on July 27.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Lisa Rossington