The accused, a 23-year-old first-time offender, pleaded guilty to impaired driving causing death.
On August 16, 2015, after consuming alcohol at a party, he drove his vehicle at excessive speed through a red light, colliding with two other vehicles at an intersection in Toronto.
His passenger, a close friend, was not wearing a seatbelt and sustained catastrophic head and neck injuries, dying shortly after arrival at hospital.
Two other occupants in the struck vehicles sustained soft tissue injuries.
The sentencing court considered aggravating factors including the accused's prior traffic violations, high blood-alcohol level, and deliberate decision to drive while impaired, balanced against significant mitigating factors including his youth, lack of criminal record, genuine remorse, and strong community support.
The court imposed a sentence of four years and six months imprisonment, an eight-year driving prohibition, and ancillary orders for DNA sample and firearms prohibition.
