Antigonish County mother remembers son killed by impaired driver
It's been less than five years since two Antigonish County teens were killed by an impaired driver in Tracadie, N.S., but for Jeannie Landry, moving forward is still a struggle.
"Time kind of stands still for us as a family," she said. "Everybody else has moved forward and it just feels like it's still back in 2011. It doesn't seem like we're in 2016."
Landry's son Nico was just 17 when he and his friend Kory Mattie, 16, were driving in a car that was struck by a driver who was high on methadone and Valium on a highway in Tracadie, N.S.
The driver of the other car, William Fogarty, was subsequently convicted of two counts of dangerous driving causing death and two counts of impaired driving by drugs causing death. He was sentenced to six years in prison, less time served, in September 2013.
'Not prepared' for parole
Last week, the Parole Board of Canada granted Fogarty day parole.
"Nobody contacted us through the justice system, I had no idea, it was just like a real kick in the guts to be honest with you," she said.
Landry says nothing could prepare her for the day the man who killed her son would be released from prison.
"It's a wave of emotions. You're angry and you're grieving still and it feel like I just went backwards," she said. "It's just not enough time and I was not prepared for 34 months to go by so quickly."
On Tuesday, Landry remembered her only son, who she described as a typical teenager who loved life, basketball, hoodies and apple pies.
"It's just the little things you miss the most and that you really don't even take account as you live each day. It's the small things you miss," she said.
House feels empty
"He used to do this thing, if he was bored he would tickle his arm and I used to laugh when I think about him. He'd be tickling his arm and I knew he was bored and looking for something to do.
Landry says her house feels empty without her son and she misses the days when she would come home from work to 10 pairs of extra sneakers at the door and the noise from Nico and his friends hanging out in the basement.
"Now his friends are growing up and they have families. They're getting married and having children, and he'll never get those things. We'll never get to see that," she said.
Landry says the crash has left her family feeling broken.
"It's changed us forever in ways that people could not imagine," she said. "I just really miss him and wish I could have him back."
