Drunken driver who killed 3 in '04 is denied parole

UTAH STATE PRISON — A drunken driver who killed three members of a Moab family in a 2004 crash has been denied parole.

The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole has scheduled an October 2013 rehearing for Rex Allen Cross.

Cross began drinking beer at 6 a.m. on Oct. 3, 2004, after his graveyard shift ended, according to a report prepared for his parole hearing. He continued to drink throughout the day and bought more beer just before he crashed head-on into a vehicle on state Route 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 with head and facial injuries.

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

"I take full accountability for what I've done," Cross said during his Oct. 13 parole hearing.

"Not only did I affect two families, but I affected a community, a state, and for that, I'm sorry," he said. "I deserve whatever time I get."