Alberta drunk driver facing dangerous-offender status apologizes

An Alberta man fighting Canada's first dangerous offender designation for chronic drunk driving apologized in court for killing Misty Chalifoux and her three girls.

"I'm sorry for the people who died that day. I wish it was me instead of them," said Raymond Charles Yellowknee, 35, speaking publicly for the first time at a hearing Monday in Slave Lake, Alta., about 250 kilometres north of Edmonton.

Wearing leg shackles and a ski jacket, Yellowknee added quietly: "I never thought my recklessness would hurt anybody."

No one from Chalifoux's family was in court to hear his apology.

In January 2006, Yellowknee was drunk and driving a stolen truck near Slave Lake. Pursued by the RCMP, he swerved across the highway and smashed head-on into the car driven by Misty Chalifoux, 28.

She was taking her three daughters Michelle, 13, Trista, 9, and Larissa, 6, on a shopping trip to Wal-Mart. All four died in the crash.

Chalifoux left behind a husband and two boys.

Yellowknee has several previous convictions for impaired driving.

The Crown wants a judge to label Yellowknee a dangerous offender and hand him an indefinite prison sentence. The hearing is a test case, because the dangerous offender status is usually reserved for people who have committed repeat sex crimes.

"We have to be careful here because a person who is designated as a dangerous offender may never ever get out of jail again," said Laurie Wood, Yellowknee's lawyer.

"And a person with addictions such as drug and alcohol are treatable generally … So, are we going to start opening our jails to sick people who suffer from addictions just because we don't have enough hospitals where they likely should be?"

Yellowknee told the court Monday how he began drinking at 13 and was sent to an alcohol treatment program when he was 15. He said he had learned his lesson and vowed to never drink again.

The hearing is scheduled to finish this week with closing arguments slated for next year.