BILLINGS — A Laurel mother is expressing her anger with the justice system after losing her daughter in a fatal crash four years ago.

She believes the punishment given to the man convicted of being involved in the death of her daughter, Alexus "Lexy" Pyle, is far too lenient.

"Lexy was a young vibrant girl about to start nursing school," Melissa Dunn, Lexy's mom, said recently.

Dunn gave a statement at the sentencing of the driver, Payton Hunter, in December. She gave her first public reaction to the sentencing in an interview with MTN News last week.

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Lexy Pyle was a passenger in a pickup truck that was involved in a two-car crash near downtown Billings in August 2021, which resulted in her daughter's death.

"In a matter of eight seconds, he took my entire life from me," Dunn said, referring to the events leading up to the accident.

According to court records, the driver, Payton Hunter, was speeding west on First Avenue North and had previously run a red light.

Hunter later admitted to the police that he had been drinking before the crash.

Three years after the crash, Hunter was convicted of one count of criminal endangerment and sentenced to a five-year commitment to the Montana Department of Corrections.

"It just wasn't what we were expecting," Dunn said, expressing her frustration of the outcome.

The Department of Corrections determined that Hunter be placed in a prerelease center after considering all related factors.

Dunn shared that she got a call last Monday, just four months after the sentencing, informing her that he had a job and would soon be out in the community.

"How is this possible? How is that legal? We ask and we don't get answers. It's up to the Department of Corrections at this point," Dunn said.

According to Conweb, which tracks Department of Corrections inmates, Hunter had his sentence partially suspended, and he was listed with the Billings Pre-Release Center.

Carolynn Stocker, a spokeswoman with the Department of Corrections, told MTN News in an email that the agency considers a range of factors before placing inmates in a pre-release center. Some of those factors include the offender's risk level, waiting lists at prerelease centers across the state, the offender's ties to the community, criminal history, severity of offense, victim's family input and other factors, Stocker wrote in the email.

While it may not be the outcome she anticipated, Dunn learned that that is how the justice system operates, a reality that has left her feeling frustrated.

"I'm just supposed to let go? It makes me feel like my daughter's life didn't mean anything," Dunn added.

Despite her sadness and anger, Dunn is committed to honoring Lexy's legacy through the "Love for Lexy Foundation."

"She was an amazing little girl and the light in everyone's life," Dunn said.

The foundation provides nursing scholarships to those who wish to pursue a career in nursing.

Dunn, who is also a nurse, said, "She was going to follow in my footsteps and go to nursing school in the fall and didn't get to do that."

In addition to scholarships, the foundation engages in various charity work within the community, a meaningful effort for Dunn to keep her daughters name alive.