Families of teens killed by impaired driver in Sudbury join launch of Festive RIDE campaign

Police in Sudbury launched the annual Festive RIDE campaign Thursday, and they used the site of a community tragedy to drive home the dangers of impaired driving.

The parents of Jasmine Houle, Caitlyn Jelley and Steven Phillippe joined Sudbury police, Ontario Provincial Police and other partners on Municipal Road 80 in Hanmer, where the three teens were killed by a drunk driver in June 2009.

The parents of Jasmine Houle, Caitlyn Jelley and Steven Phillippe joined Sudbury police, Ontario Provincial Police and other partners on Municipal Road 80 in Hanmer, where the three teens were killed by a drunk driver in June 2009. (Angela Gemmill/CTV News)

There is now a memorial at the site – a small garden with three wooden crosses, a memorial bench and a sign with the victims’ pictures on it.

"If you’re going to drive impaired, you should know that you're going to hit something somebody, yourself," said Corinne Williamson, Jasmine’s mother.

"Somebody's going to get hurt. I mean, the consequences are just not even worth it."

As the years have passed, Williamson said the pain doesn't go away.

"It doesn't get easier, but it gets lighter,” she said.

"You still have to make sure that people know that it's not even acceptable to drive impaired. It’s not."

Police say the families represent the tragic consequences when someone gets behind the wheel after consuming drugs or alcohol.

The parents of Jasmine Houle, Caitlyn Jelley and Steven Phillippe joined Sudbury police, Ontario Provincial Police and other partners on Municipal Road 80 in Hanmer, where the three teens were killed by a drunk driver in June 2009. (Angela Gemmill/CTV News)

As of the end of October, Greater Sudbury Police Service said there were 216 impaired arrests so far in 2024, including 133 for alcohol, 72 for drugs and 11 refusing to provide a sample.

There were 308 impaired offences in all of 2023.

Sudbury police want to remind the community there is a zero-tolerance approach to impaired driving of any motor vehicle.

"What I'd like to see is that we're not getting anybody," said Insp. Robert Norman.

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"That tells me that our community has a zero tolerance to impaired operation, and we have no accidents, we have no offences, we're not charging people with impaired offences. That's where we'd like to be."

For the next six weeks, officers will set up RIDE spot checks in random locations at all hours of the day on the lookout for impaired drivers.

Police urge everyone who will be celebrating to plan ahead about how to get home safely, with the hopes that this Holiday season won’t end in tragedy.