The impaired driver who struck and killed a 15-year-old teen last year in Sault Ste. Marie apologized for what he did as part of sentencing submissions Thursday in court. Victim impact statements were also submitted from family and friends of Connor Dunn, who was killed in April 2025 while riding an E-bike. A 15-year-old friend of Dunn’s was seriously injured. In April, Greg Parise pleaded guilty to charges of impaired driving causing death and injury. The court heard that Parise was driving a pickup truck after drinking early in the morning on April 20, 2025, and hit the teens when he turned left onto Third Line West around 1 a.m. Victim impact statements Thursday in court told of the immeasurable loss and pain that Dunn’s death has caused his friends and family. Letters of support for Parise outlined his willingness to change and be accountable for his actions. Justice Sandra Caponecchia heard each side’s arguments on their respective sentencing suggestions. Defence lawyer David Bayliss repeated that the decision to drive that night was a clear mistake, although he questioned the impact that alcohol played in the tragedy, noting that Parise was not “driving horrendously.” Crown attorney David Parke reiterated aggravating factors in the case. The then 18-year-old Parise not only made the decision to drive, but convinced the vehicle’s owner that he was able to despite drinking, and only having a G1 license at the time, which prohibited him from driving after midnight. Near day’s end, Parise wrote a statement to be read in court in which he said that he’s “deeply sorry about the accident” and that he “re-lives it every day.” Parke proposed a seven-year jail sentence, with 10 years’ driving prohibition after Parise’s release. Bayliss suggested two years less a day, keeping him out of a penitentiary, with a three-year driving suspension. Caponecchia will announce her decision at a hearing Oct. 19.
