Alberta driver who killed 3 young men in 2011 crash granted day parole

Jonathan Pratt, who was convicted of killing three teenagers in a drunk driving-related crash in November 2011, was granted day parole on Thursday.

Seven years ago, Bradley Arsenault, Thaddeus Lake and Kole Novak died in a horrendous collision in Beaumont, Alta.

RELATED: Families of Beaumont crash victims mark grim anniversary: ‘All these boys have been gone 5 years’

Pratt was doing almost 200 km/h when his truck slammed into the vehicle carrying the three young men. He had a blood alcohol level two-and-a-half times the legal limit. He was found guilty in 2014 of manslaughter and impaired driving causing death.

In April 2017, Pratt’s request for day and full parole was denied.

READ MORE: ‘No sense of emotion, no tears’: Alberta driver who killed 3 young men denied parole

On Thursday, he had another parole hearing in Winnipeg where he asked for three months of day parole followed by full parole.

Pratt was instead granted six months of day parole. His request for full parole was again denied.

One of the victims’ mothers has mixed feelings about the decision.

“We were disappointed but we also were expecting it,” Sheri Arsenault told Global News.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We were disappointed but we also were expecting it," Sheri Arsenault told Global News.

“We know his statutory release is one year from now and they most likely would, at the very least, grant day parole.”

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“At least with the day parole, he’s at a halfway house. He’ll still be managed, he’ll be watched very closely. There will be a lot more restrictions than if he was just given three months’ day parole and then granted the full parole,” Arsenault said.

Watch – Sep 21, 2014: The man sentenced for the impaired crash that killed three Beaumont teens is appealing his conviction, prompting one victim’s parents to speak out for the first time.

She still doesn’t feel the initial eight-year sentence was substantial enough.

“There’s no winning. He will move forward with his life and us… we’ll always be heartbroken over the loss our three young sons,” Arsenault said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "There's no winning. He will move forward with his life and us… we'll always be heartbroken over the loss our three young sons," Arsenault said.

“At the bottom of my stomach there’s a pit that he’ll be home for Christmas this year.”

READ MORE: ‘I feel for them every day,’ Alberta man found guilty of deadly crash

“We know we can’t stop it but we can only hope that he can be managed and they keep an eye on him because he still has quite a lack of remorse and a lot of self-pity and we feel the general public is still at risk.”