The surviving half of a family torn in two by a fatal 2012 impaired driving crash on Highway 427 say the five-year sentence for the driver is “disgusting.”
A judge sentenced Sabastian Prosa, 22, to five years in prison Tuesday in connection with the deadly crash. In addition to the five-year sentence, a judge also handed Prosa an eight-year ban on driving.
Prosa was found guilty of impaired driving causing death and 10 other charges back in June, but his sentencing was postponed.
Jayantha Wijeratne, 49, and his daughter Eleesha, 16, were both killed in the early hours of Aug. 5, 2012 after the van they were travelling in was struck head-on by Prosa’s SUV, travelling in the wrong direction on Highway 427 near the QEW. Jayantha’s wife Antonette Wijeratne sustained serious injuries in the crash.
Speaking outside the courthouse Tuesday afternoon, she called the sentence “disappointing.”
“I’m not pleased with the sentence at all,” Wijeratne said. “He took two precious lives and I’m permanently injured. It’s not enough. He got only five years. We got a life sentence three years ago.”
Her son, Brian Wijeratne, also spoke to reporters outside the courthouse and called the sentence “disgusting and disrespectful.”
“I think that’s absolutely ridiculous and it’s infuriating,” he said.
The defence claimed Prosa’s drink had been spiked at a bar and that he remembered little from the night of the crash. However friends testified that he had been drinking heavily.
In his ruling, Judge Glenn Hainey said the results of Prosa’s behaviour were “catastrophic,” however he said he did not feel the eight-year sentence being sought by the Crown was appropriate.
Sombre and wearing a dark suit, Prosa hugged family members before going into court and appeared flushed. The York University science student listened quietly as the judge read the verdict.
Hainey said the sentence he imposed reflected the criminal code, but also took into account the circumstances of the individual. He said Prosa had a stable upbringing and no criminal record. Two dozen character references submitted by family members and employers indicated that he had a track record of “exceptional” behavior and obeying the rules. The court also heard that Prosa maintained good grades and had plans to go to medical school.
After the sentence was read aloud, Prosa thanked the judge and was then led away in handcuffs.
Both surviving members of the Wijeratne family said they’d like to see tighter restrictions around impaired driving and tougher penalties imposed for drunk drivers.
“This pattern of carelessness and needless death need to change,” Brian Wijeratne said. “Our laws need to change.”
He thanked the Crown for the hard work in bringing about the outcome, however he said it was unbelievable that a five-year sentence required such a monumental effort.
Speaking to reporters after the family, Carolyn Swinson of MADD Canada sounded a similar note.
“This sentencing today just does not reflect the severity of the crime,” she said. “I can’t tell you how frustrating it is when we know there are things the governments can do.”
She said MADD Canada would like to see tougher penalties for drunk drivers, including minimum mandatory sentences for drunk driving situations that result on death.
