Parole denied for lawyer convicted of impaired driving in teen's 2018 death
An Edmonton lawyer serving a 3 1/2 year prison sentence after fatally hitting a teen while he was driving drunk has been denied parole.
Shane Stevenson was seeking both day and full parole after he was sentenced last October for dangerous driving causing death.
The parole board panel noted Stevenson had "made some gains" over the past months but denied his application.
"You do still have some outstanding risk factors," the board noted. "At this time, your risk is assessed as unmanageable."
Stevenson struck and killed Chloe Wiwchar, a 16-year-old Grade 11 student, while he was driving his truck along Kingsway near Tower Road on April 15, 2018.
An off-duty police officer witnessed the collision, called 911 and followed Stevenson's truck to a nearby alley where he was later arrested.
He pleaded guilty in October 2020 when court heard that his blood alcohol content at the time of the crash was nearly double the legal limit.
Wiwchar's mother, Holly Lucier, presented a victim impact statement before the parole board calling for tougher impaired driving laws.
"Sentencing does not match the seriousness of the crime," she said. "I will never return to a place where I'll see my child's face or kiss her forehead."
According to the Parole Board of Canada, most offenders are eligible for full parole at whatever is less: one-third of their sentence or seven years.
Most offenders are eligible for day parole six months before the full parole eligibility date.
By law, offenders have a parole review within six months of their eligibility date.
Parole boards consider the nature of the offence as well as prior criminal history, behaviour in the institution, victim impact statements and community release plan in making their decisions.
Stevenson has two months to appeal Thursday's decision.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
What happens after we die? Most Canadians say an afterlife does exist, survey shows
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.