The Parole Board of Canada has granted parole to a Nova Scotia man who killed a girl in a hit-and-run in 2019, saying he’s taken responsibility for his actions.
Colin Tweedie struck and killed 10-year-old Talia Forrest in Big Bras d’Or on Cape Breton Island while she was out for a bike ride.
A first-time offender, Tweedie was originally acquitted in 2022 but the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal overturned the ruling citing errors of law by the presiding judge. He was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison after a second trial on charges of accident resulting in death and impaired driving causing death.
In a decision dated Jan. 8, the parole board said Tweedie originally thought he had hit a deer and kept driving. When he went back to the scene, he saw the first responders and police could smell alcohol on his breath. It said Tweedie’s story did not line up with eyewitness statements and he was arrested after taking a breathalyzer test.
“The judge identified the events of the evening, the death of the child, your attempts to avoid the consequences of your actions by blaming it on your partner and suggesting that you hit a deer as aggravating,” says the decision.
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“The judge identified the letters of support, the pre-sentence report, your expression of remorse, family support and rehabilitation as mitigating.”
The board says Tweedie began day parole in July, has been attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, is attending college and has shown remorse for his actions.
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“You do not attribute your past decisions to personal flaws; rather, you accept full responsibility for the tragic outcome that claimed a young life,” reads the board’s decision. “In doing so, you acknowledge that panic and alcohol combined to impair your judgment at the time.”
The board says it also considered multiple victim impact statements conveying the “profound emotional and psychological harm endured by the victim’s extended family.
“Their lives have been irrevocably altered, and the aftermath has necessitated professional intervention.”
The parole board said Tweedie is considered a low risk to reoffend and was not involved in any incidents while incarcerated. Local police raised no issue with Tweedie’s release, says the decision.
Conditions to his release include living at home with his common-law spouse, a prohibition on alcohol and a directive to have no contact with the girl’s family.
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