A Nova Scotia man who killed two teenage sisters while drinking and driving is accused of impaired driving again.
What is even more stunning, perhaps, is that the mother of the girls says she has forgiven him and prays for him every day.
Mary Louise Orichefsky’s daughters, 15-year-old Renee Lee and 13-year-old Danielle, were waiting for a bus in Dartmouth when they were hit by an erratic driver on July 20, 1995.
The man responsible for their deaths admitted to having some beer before getting behind the wheel.
The Orichefsky family, from Cole Harbour, forgave Ralph Parker and encouraged him to turn his life around.
However, Parker was charged with impaired driving 10 days ago.
“I was disappointed, saddened,” says Mary Louise. “He was genuinely sorry for what he had done so I thought he would never get behind the wheel again under the influence.”
During a road check this month, officers detected alcohol on the breath of the 38-year-old man. Police say he had failed a roadside sobriety test and refused to provide a breathalyzer sample.
“There are charges accordingly because the assumption is made that the person may be trying to get out of giving a sample for some reason and the question can be made and answered in court, why did they not give the sample?” says Halifax RCMP Cpl. Scott MacRae.
Despite his recent arrest, Mary Louise says she still forgives Parker, and even feels sorry for him. She also wants to see harsher punishments for impaired drivers.
Parker is due in court in July – the same month he appeared in court 18 years ago on charges in connection with the girls’ deaths.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Kelland Sundahl
