Drunk driver in DJ Hancock death applies for unescorted prison leave

The mother of a Sudbury teen killed by a drunk driver last year says she was appalled that the person responsible is now eligible for passes from prison.

It's been slightly more than a year since DJ Hancock's car was struck head-on by Walter Carter's truck on the southwest bypass. He died at the scene.

Carter was given five years in prison

Kim Hancock said she doesn't understand how Carter, then 39, could be tasting freedom so quickly.

"It made me sick to my stomach. He's only been in there since November and he's already eligible to be getting out?"

Hancock said Carter wants an unescorted leave from the prison. 

A spokesperson with the Ontario Region of the Parole Board of Canada won't talk about Carter's case, but told CBC News there is a graduated schedule for offenders to apply for release into the community.

Karen Thomson said the system is set up to help the offender rehabilitate and ease back into society.

"It also allows for the offender to develop as a law-abiding citizen," she said.

For instance, offenders can apply for full parole after serving one third of their sentence.

In Walter Carter's case, that would be after serving less than two years of a five-year sentence.

Hancock said she was asked to send another victim impact statement to the parole board for Carter's eligibility hearing

She said she will also travel to Joyceville Penitentiary, near Kingston, to witness the hearing.

Her 18-year-old son was returning from a tryout for the Sudbury Nickel Barons hockey team when the fatal crash happened. His parents were driving not far behind their son.

"[Carter] gave me a life sentence and he only got five years. He's only going to serve probably two and a bit, you know, maybe three years max," Hancock said.