Beaumont man charged in crash that killed three young men

EDMONTON – A 28-year-old Beaumont man is facing nine charges, including three counts of manslaughter, in connection with a late November crash that killed three young men, Leduc RCMP say.

Johnathan Robert Pratt, 28, is charged with three counts each of impaired operation causing death, driving over the legal limit causing death and manslaughter, RCMP said Monday in a release.

The charges stem from a Nov. 26, 2011 crash on the south edge of Beaumont, just west of the intersection of Highway 625 and 60th Street.

RCMP were called to a report of a single-vehicle rollover around 2:45 a.m., and found a Doge Ram pickup truck in the south ditch of the highway. A Pontiac Grand Am was found immediately west of the truck.

Bradley Arsenault, 18, Kole Novak, 18, both of Leduc, and 22-year-old Thaddeus Lake, of Beaumont, were all travelling in the Grand Am and were pronounced dead at the scene.

People in Beaumont came together one day after the crash to mourn the victims. A makeshift memorial was set up at the Beaumont skate park, which was a favourite hangout of Arsenault and Novak, roommates who graduated from high school last June. Lake was remembered as an active member of Edmonton music scene and, until about three weeks before the crash, was a bassist for local pop punk act the Maddigans.

A police investigation found both vehicles were travelling east and struck each other before going off the road. Both speed and alcohol were considered factors in the crash early in the investigation.

Pratt, the driver and sole occupant of the pickup, was taken to an Edmonton hospital in critical condition. He was released from hospital on Friday, when Leduc RCMP brought him into custody.

He is scheduled to appear in Leduc provincial court on Thursday via closed circuit television, RCMP said.

RCMP did not release further details regarding the investigation, citing the ongoing court process.