He drove drunk and killed three teenagers. In court, he will face their loved ones

A Parrish man is expected to be sentenced to 30 years in prison after taking a plea deal for DUI charges that left three teenagers dead and another wheel-chair bound.

Brody Catt, 35, pleaded no contest to three counts of driving under the influence manslaughter, one count of DUI causing bodily injury and two counts of DUI causing damage to personal property for crash on Nov. 19, 2014.

Even though Catt’s expected prison sentence was negotiated as part of his plea deal, the hearing was postponed until Friday to allow all the victims’ loved ones and the surviving victim to be present if they wish, according to Assistant State Attorney Dickey Hough. It is unsure who will make victim impact statements during the hearing, however.

Catt will be sentenced at 8 a.m. Friday — just two days shy of the third anniversary of the crash.

Mark France, whose daughter Amber Darlene France was among the victims, intends to make a statement Friday because he wants Catt to know who his daughter was. Over the last three years, he believes his daughter was just a name to the man responsible for her death.

“He never knew her,” France said. His daughter was graduating from high school with a scholarship and planned to go to college when she was killed.

“She was a good person, and I hope during the 30 years he spends in prison he can help somebody else so they don’t drive drunk,” France said. “Nobody wins ... Nothing can bring my daughter back,” France said.

Catt, who had been out on bonds totaling $82,000 after his Jan. 8, 2016 arrest, was remanded back to sheriff’s custody and is being held at the Manatee County jail.

On the night of Nov. 19, 2014, Catt was westbound in a red 2013 Dodge Ram on County Road 675 approaching the Spencer Parrish Road intersection, while a Chevy Impala followed by an Infiniti G35 were eastbound on C.R. 675 approaching the same intersection.

Catt turned left on Spencer Parrish Road, failing to yield to the Impala, according to FHP, and the front of the Dodge Ram hit the front of the Impala. The Infiniti tried to avoid the collision by veering left, but hit the rear of the Dodge Ram, which was spinning from the initial collision.

Amber Darlene France, 18, and Sean Thomas Barrett, 19, were killed instantly in the Impala. Lee Grady Edington, 19, of Bradenton, died at Blake Medical Center several days later as a result of his injuries.

A fourth victim in the Impala, Nicholas Everette Watson of Myakka, had also been taken to Blake, where he was in a coma for two months. Watson’s injuries included spinal cord damage; a broken leg and pelvis; severed liver, intestines and spine; broken arms; and broken ribs.

The 22-year-old Infiniti driver had minor injuries that did not require hospitalization.

Investigators reported finding Catt at the crash site with an open beer can and reeking of alcohol.

The state attorney’s office filed charges against him on Dec. 22, 2015, after prosecutors obtained the results of blood tests taken in the hospital after the crash. A judge had to grant a subpoena for the records at the prosecutor’s request, to which Catt’s defense objected.

When formal charges were filed, Catt left the state instead of surrendering as his attorney had promised. He was later arrested during a traffic stop in the Panhandle.

This story was originally published November 16, 2017 at 9:36 AM with the headline "He drove drunk and killed three teenagers. In court, he will face their loved ones."