Emotional day in Clarenville courtroom as Austin Deir sentencing hearing resumes

After battling back tears and struggling to keep going, Kelly Tulk steeled her nerves and raised her eyes as she read the final sentence in her victim impact statement.

Looking directly at the prisoner's box in the packed Clarenville courtroom, and the man, Austin Deir, who admits his actions caused the death of her daughter Haley Keating, and Haley's good friend Erin Pretty, Tulk said this:

"The only comfort that I have left now, knowing [Haley and Erin]are in heaven, is that your paths will never cross again."

With that, Tulk quietly stepped down from the witness box, ending a painful and raw 14-minute presentation to a court presided over by Judge Andrew Brown.

Deir, wearing a blue jacket and black-ribbed eyeglasses, was attentive and composed throughout Monday's proceedings.

Tulk said her life has been shattered by the loss of her daughter. She's unable to work, drive, or be the mother she should be to Haley's younger sister.

She lives a life of "grief and pain," and said Haley and Erin, both 22 at the time of their deaths, were given a "death sentence" because of Deir's "reckless actions."

She condemned Deir for failing to show any remorse or offer condolences to two families who have had their worlds shattered.

Tulk said she's living a life of "emptiness" and that it "crushes my heart" to see Haley's friends getting married, buying homes and having children.

"We will not have that privilege," she said.

It was just one of many heavy moments during a heated atmosphere inside and outside the court as more than a dozen people spoke about the fallout from a Jan. 21, 2024 collision on the Trans-Canada Highway near Arnold's Cove that sent shockwaves throughout Trinity and Placentia bays, and beyond.

It was a sunny day and road conditions were normal, but Deir's SUV drifted into the eastbound lane and collided head-on with a smaller Hyundai car.

Erin Pretty died at the scene. Haley Keating fought for her life through multiple surgeries, but eventually passed away on Jan. 28.

Deir, a labour leader in his early 70s who lives in Mount Pearl, was eventually charged with two counts each of impaired driving causing death, and dangerous driving causing death.