Parole board ponders fate of drunken driver who killed 3

UTAH STATE PRISON — A Roosevelt man who killed three people in a 2004 drunken-driving crash while on probation for his fourth DUI conviction attended his first parole hearing last week.

Rex Allen Cross, 33, fielded questions from Utah Board of Pardons and Parole member Robert S. Yeates with a respectful, "Yes, sir," and "No, sir," throughout a 20-minute hearing. He told Yeates he'd begun using alcohol at age 13 and first noticed a problem with his drinking at 15. By 23, Cross said, he was drinking daily.

"I'm an alcoholic," Cross said.

On Oct. 3, 2004, Cross and a co-worker began drinking beer at 6 a.m. after their graveyard shift ended, according to a report prepared for the parole hearing. Cross continued to drink throughout the day. He even stopped to purchase more beer just before he crashed head-on into a vehicle on state Road 128 near Moab about 1:30 p.m.

The crash killed the vehicle's driver, Kathleen Parry, 35, and her parents, James Parry, 72, and Olive Parry, 67, all of Moab. Kathleen Parry's 6-year-old daughter Emma survived the crash but suffered head and facial injuries.

At the time of the crash, Cross was on probation for his fourth DUI conviction.

Cross was charged in 7th District Court with three second-degree felony counts of automobile homicide, felony DUI and four misdemeanor traffic violations. He pleaded guilty to two counts of automobile homicide and the DUI charge in a plea deal with Grand County prosecutors. He was sentenced to serve two terms of one to 15 years in prison and one term of zero to five years in prison, all consecutively.

Since his incarceration, Cross has earned his high-school diploma and 25 credits from Utah State University. He's also completed several substance-abuse courses and become actively involved in Alcoholics Anonymous and the 12-step program run by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"I take full accountability for what I've done," Cross said. "Not only did I affect two families, but I affected a community, a state, and for that, I'm sorry. I deserve whatever time I get."

Yeates lauded Cross for his efforts to better himself. Still, Yeates said, the parole board is facing a difficult choice in determining whether to release Cross before the December 2013 date recommended by the state's parole guidelines.

"I just can't predict how it's going to go," said Yeates, who called Cross' criminal conduct "careless, reckless and irresponsible."

"You've caused unspeakable harm to the Parry family," Yeates said. "You've devastated the lives of not only the victims' family, but probably your own (family)."

A decision on Cross' parole is expected in November.

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