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Op-Ed: Lenient sentence for drunk driver who killed a crime in itself

Family destroyed

Sabastian Prosa, now 22 but 19 at the time of his crime, was found guilty of 12 charges, including driving while impaired, but his sentence is just five years. He drank most of the night on August 5, 2012 then got on the 427 and sped the wrong way, colliding head-on with the Wijeratne family vehicle.

The family were on their way home from a week in Florida where they had been celebrating the birthday of Antonette, the mother. Her husband, Jayantha, 49, and Eleesha, 16, would never go home again while Antonette suffered permanent damage. She and son Brian are the only two to remain in what was once a family of four.

Prosa, who has aspirations of becoming a doctor, did not have concern for the well-being of others when he made the choice to drink and drive. During trial he attempted to make the excuse that he had been drugged while partying with friends at a club in downtown Toronto.

Drunk driving excuse

That is a laughable defence, one tried before. West Vancouver police Const. Griffin Gillan tried the same thing after an incident in January of 2009 when he and two other off-duty officers attacked Phil Khan, 47. Khan was subjected to racial slurs and a beating so severe he required lengthy medical care. Gillan, like Prosa, was drunk and, again like Prosa, said his behaviour was the result of spiked drinks.

Incredibly, two years later Gillan was given his job back and, incredibly, it is possible Prosa could be out of jail within about 20 months. Brian Wijeratne, who lost his father and sister and suffers watching his mother deal with disabilities, is baffled as to how that could be so.

“I ask all Canadians: Do you honestly believe this is real justice received for the deaths of two people and injuries to another?” Brian said to media following the sentencing. “Because I don’t. The Canadian justice system is all too lenient on this issue. It is disgusting and disrespectful to all lives lost to this violent crime.”

The Crown asked for a sentence of eight years, the defence for one of three, Superior Court Justice Glenn Hainey picked five. My suspicion is Brian’s choice might have been somewhere in the 10-year range, though he did not name a specific figure. I certainly would say 10.

Why?

Well, here’s this: why not? After making that choice, with those results, after such a pathetic excuse, why should we allow Mr. Prosa back into our midst in so short a period of time? Is that a deterrent to others? Especially given he’s been out on bail since his crime it hardly seems remotely just.

Such a short sentence does not sit will with me nor Brian Wijeratne. It should not sit well with anyone in our country. Look at that photo above again. Look at what was. The smile on Eleesha’s face. The proud mother. The strong males. The family. Once was, now no more.

Allowing Sabastian Prosa to return to society so quickly after taking so much is in itself a crime.

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