A Lethbridge man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for a drunk driving crash in August 2024 that killed a 13-year-old Calgary girl and seriously injured four others, including his own son.
Mark Briggs, 35, pleaded guilty in July 2025 to one count of impaired driving causing death and four counts of impaired driving causing bodily harm. He was sentenced on April 22 in a Lethbridge court.
Details of the Crash
Emergency crews responded to the scene on Highway 3 near Coalhurst just before midnight on August 20, 2024. A Chevrolet Malibu and a Nissan Sentra were involved in a head-on collision. The Nissan, driven by Briggs, was traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes of the divided highway.
The 13-year-old victim, Alessia Loria, died two days later in a Calgary hospital. Her mother, Joanna, and two older siblings, Sophia and Guiseppe (then 18 and 16), suffered major injuries. Guiseppe, despite a fractured back, pulled his sisters from the burning vehicle.
The Loria family was returning to Alberta from a Disneyland vacation in California, a trip planned in memory of their late husband and father who had died about 10 years earlier.
Sentencing Details
Justice Kristin Ailsby imposed a 5.5-year sentence for causing Alessia's death and an additional 2.5 years for impaired driving causing bodily harm to Briggs' son, to be served consecutively. Briggs received concurrent 2.5-year sentences for the other three counts of impaired driving causing bodily harm. He was also banned from driving for 15 years.
“As a result of this event, and the death of Alessia, the Loria family and our larger community is lesser,” said Ailsby. “There is less joy, less hope, and more pain, because she is forever gone and truly missed.”
The Crown had requested an eight-year sentence and a 16-year driving prohibition, while the defense argued for approximately five years.
Aggravating Factors
Ailsby noted that Briggs' blood alcohol level was 3.5 to 4 times the legal limit. He drove the wrong way on a well-lit, divided highway, ignoring multiple warning signs and the efforts of other drivers to stop him, including honking, flashing lights, and swerving vehicles. His seven-year-old son even pointed out the danger, but Briggs continued.
“Mr. Briggs engaged in a sustained pattern of reckless driving,” Ailsby said. “He passed by multiple turnouts where he could have pulled over, but he chose not to.”
Briggs was aware of his alcohol addiction but failed to manage it responsibly, the judge added. The crash also caused life-altering injuries to his son, while Briggs himself suffered only a fractured collarbone.
“In choosing to drive impaired on August 20, 2024, Mr. Briggs demonstrated a wanton and reckless disregard for the lives of every single person sharing the roads with him that night,” Ailsby concluded.
