Brittany Barry, the woman responsible for an alcohol-related 2024 crash that killed a mother and daughter from Alberta, has been pre-approved for day parole. In a decision dated Aug. 11, the Parole Board of Canada approved Barry moving into a community-based residential facility or halfway-house for a six month period when she becomes eligible for day parole next month. Barry pleaded guilty to one count of driving over the legal limit causing death and one count of driving over the legal limit causing bodily harm. The rest of the 16 charges she initially faced were stayed. She has completed around 18 months of her six-year sentence so far, which was imposed on March 14, 2025. Federal inmates are allowed to apply for full parole a third of the way through their sentence — while day parole can be requested six months prior to that. In the decision, the board credited Barry’s behaviour while incarcerated in a minimum-security facility and described her accountability, motivation level and reintegration potential as “high.” “To your credit, you accept responsibility for your wrongdoing and have acknowledged that you were not coping well with the stressors in your life at the time, which led to you engaging in risky behaviours and ultimately taking two innocent lives and forever altering many others,” the decision read. “You demonstrate an appropriate degree of empathy for the surviving victims. You appear genuinely committed to addressing your risk factors and have been a full participant in your correctional and release planning.” On the evening of Oct. 19, 2024, Barry was driving her truck on the wrong side of Highway 11 near Dundurn when she struck an oncoming vehicle — killing 53-year-old Laura Hannah and 20-year-old Jamie Hannah. The mother and daughter duo were travelling to Moose Jaw for a funeral at the time of the crash. Barry’s two children, then aged three and eight, were passengers in her truck and sustained serious injuries in the crash. Barry’s blood alcohol content was found to be between 210 and 190 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood – or twice the legal limit. As per the conditions of her release, Barry is not allowed to consume alcohol and visit drinking establishments. She is also barred from contacting any family members of the victims and is forbidden from travelling within 50 kilometres of an undisclosed community in Alberta. Barry must follow a treatment plan and cannot drive for a period of seven years following her release. She was also approved for “leave privileges” while on day parole in order to visit family, attend church and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. With files from Stacey Hein and Hayatullah Amanat
