Saskatchewan Woman Granted Day Parole After Fatal DUI Crash Kills Two

Brittany Dawn Barry, the Saskatchewan woman serving a six-year sentence for a fatal crash that killed an Alberta mother and daughter, has been approved for six months of day parole once she reaches her eligibility date.

The Parole Board of Canada’s decision puts Barry on a path to live in a community-based residential facility or halfway house during that period, under conditions that include no alcohol, no driving and no contact with the victims’ family members.

Parole Approved With Conditions

Barry pleaded guilty in March 2025 to driving over the legal limit causing death and driving over the legal limit causing bodily harm.

The offences stem from an Oct. 19, 2024, crash near Saskatoon, where Barry drove the wrong way on a highway and collided with another vehicle. Laura Hannah and her daughter, Jamie Hannah, both from Alberta, were killed.

Barry’s two children were passengers in her truck and were injured in the crash.

Breath testing after the collision showed Barry’s blood alcohol concentration was more than twice the legal limit.

Families Said It Was Too Soon

The parole decision lands against the grief of those close to Laura and Jamie Hannah. Victims’ friends and family told the Parole Board it was too soon for Barry to be released.

“Surviving family members feel that it is too soon for you to be released to the community,” the board said in its decision, according to the source reporting.

Another passage cited in the reporting described the ongoing impact on those left behind: “Many describe feeling intense grief and still harbour anger towards you, for the shocking deaths of their loved ones.”

The board acknowledged that harm directly in its decision, saying the effects of Barry’s offences were “profound, widespread” and continued to be re-experienced.

Board Cites Responsibility

The Parole Board said Barry had accepted responsibility for her actions.

“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 board said, according to the reporting.

The board also said Barry showed empathy for the surviving victims and appeared committed to addressing the factors tied to her offence.

Those findings did not erase the tension at the centre of the case: a parole decision made while two families and their communities continue to live with the deaths of Laura and Jamie Hannah.

Alcohol And Driving Bans

Barry’s day-parole conditions bar her from drinking alcohol and from entering bars or other establishments that sell alcohol.

She is also barred from contacting the victims’ family members.

Driving is prohibited during her release as well, a condition directly tied to the offence that brought her before the board: a wrong-way crash, after drinking, that killed two people and injured the children riding with her.

During the six-month day-parole period, Barry will live in a halfway house or community-based residential facility rather than returning freely to the community.

The decision means Barry’s release will begin only once she reaches her eligibility date, under the conditions set by the Parole Board of Canada.

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