A fire-fighter in Canada has been found not guilty of a hit and run offence, because the judge ruled he was too drunk to realise he had hit someone.

Trevor Clarke, 37 from Ottawa, was convicted of impaired driving causing bodily harm in October 2012. Mr Clarke hit a cyclist, leaving the victim in a critical condition.

However, the judge in the case, Justice David Paciocco, ruled that Mr Clarke could not be found guilty of a second charge of leaving the scene of the accident; because he was so drunk he was unaware he had hit someone.

“I must, however, find Mr. Clarke not guilty of the failing to stop offence,” the judge said. According to The Ottawa Citizen.

“I am left in a reasonable doubt about whether Mr. Clarke knew or was wilfully blind to having collided with a person, precisely because he was so drunk.

“He cannot, therefore, be convicted of this offence, but he can be punished for getting himself to that point of intoxication and thereby harming (the cyclist).”

Jennifer Leonard, 45, suffered a serious brain injury in the incident and told the court she still struggles with physical and emotional problems.

A series of failures in police procedures meant several charges against Clarke were dropped, with several statements Clarke made ruled inadmissible, as well as Clarke’s breathalyser test results.

“Their admission would bring the administration of justice into disrepute, given the seriousness of the breaches and the fact that he provided those samples after legal advice based on misinformation,” Paciocco said.

Mr Clarke will be sentenced in September.