The town of Beaumont is coming together to mark a very sombre anniversary.
Monday, November 26 marks the one year anniversary of the death of three young Beaumont men.
Bradley Arsenault, 18, Kole Novak, 18, and Thaddeus Lake, 22, were killed last November, when the vehicle they were in collided with a vehicle driven by an alleged drunk driver.
Sunday evening, over 100 friends and family gathered to honour and remember the trio- who were extremely close friends. A candlelight walk begin at St. Vital Church in Beaumont at 5:15p.m. The group walked to the local skatepark, a popular hangout for the men.
Bradley Arsenault’s family says the past year has been extremely tough.
“Mostly I wake up every morning and I still can’t believe it’s true,” said Sheri Arsenault, Bradley’s mother.
“I just miss him every day,” said Bradley’s sister Aimee Arsenault adding “He loved life.”
Sheri says while it is a day to remember and honour her son, it’s a day of mixed emotions.
“Tonight is all about celebration and remembrance of that tragic day, one year ago, in that small town. It’s a day to celebrate their young lives. They were full, young lives.”
Sheri says she is now focused on getting stricter penalties for people who choose to drink and drive.
“(Brad) inspired a lot of us to fight on and to get more in balance, for this crime to be seen as a choice that people make and it is senseless and it is avoidable.”
“Drunk driving is not okay and it should have a stricter sentence,” added Aimee.
On November 26, 2011 RCMP were called to what was initially thought to be a single vehicle rollover in the south ditch of Highway 625 just west of 60th Street, around 2:45 am.
As additional fire crews and paramedics arrived at the scene, the Pontiac Grand Am the three young men were in was found just west of the rolled truck.
Arsenault, Novak and Lake all died at the scene – two of them had been ejected from the vehicle and the other was pulled from the wreckage.
Johnathan Robert Pratt, 28 at the time, is facing multiple charges in connection with the crash.
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