Judge believes hockey player's concussions might have caused 'impaired' driving

When Derek Lyons caused a car accident last year, it was assumed he was driving while impaired. But this week, a court found that the former hockey player wasn't impaired. He had a history of concussions and he was being treated for an anxiety disorder with medication - something the judge believed could have influenced Lyons' actions. 

In May of 2014, Lyons was in-line at a gas station when he reached into his back seat to get his wallet. His foot slipped off the pedal and he rear ended a woman's car in front of him. When the woman confronted Lyons, she said he looked "spaced out" and told him she was going to call the police.

I have an idea of what I sound and what I look like ... to see myself stumbling and slurring my speech was kind of surreal.- Derek Lyons

Lyons says he started having a severe panic attack and it only became worse when police brought him in to custody.  "I think once I got to the station, it really set in and I think that's where my anxiety peaked for the day."

Lyons was slurring his words and stumbling around, at one point needing the assistance of an officer to keep from falling over. Lyons says he was shocked to see himself in the police surveillance monitor as officers administered tests to see if he was impaired or not.

"I have an idea of what I sound and what I look like ... but the tests that the officers were conducting are pretty simple tests ... to see myself stumbling and slurring my speech was kind of surreal."

At one point, Lyons' condition concerned officers enough that paramedics had to be called to attend to him.

Police say Lyons tested negative for alcohol but his behavior was becoming more erratic the longer he was in custody. They concluded he was on drugs and charged him with impaired driving.

Lyons, a former OHL hockey player, has suffered four concussions over his playing career, and another on a job site  just weeks before his accident. Lyons says he hasn't been medically diagnosed with concussions being linked to his anxiety disorder, but he says it's a possibility. 

"When I get a panic attack ... I feel light headed. The only link I can make between concussion and anxiety is it intensifies my anxiety disorder."

This week, an Ontario Court Justice concluded Lyons' symptoms could have been caused by his anxiety disorder and post-concussion syndrome. "I'm feeling pretty relieved," Lyons' tells As It Happens, "it feels like a pretty big weight lifted off my shoulders."

Concussions have been in the spotlight recently through films like Wil Smith's "Concussion" raising awareness of the long term effects of concussions in athletes. Lyons recently started therapy, which he credits in helping with his anxiety disorder.