Prosecutors are asking for eight years in prison for the man who killed 21-year-old Silas O'Brien in a hit-and-run crash four years ago.

Brent Parent was found guilty in January of criminal negligence causing death, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and failure to remain at the scene of an accident.

At a sentencing hearing Friday, a B.C. Supreme Court judge heard that Parent has 64 previous driving infractions, five 24-hour driving prohibitions, five licence suspensions and a criminal record for mischief, fraud and marijuana cultivation.

Besides asking for a lengthy jail term, lawyers for the Crown suggested 43-year-old Parent should be handed a 15-year driving ban.

Parent ran O'Brien down with his Ford F350 pickup truck on a rural stretch of road in Langley on March 13, 2008 following a confrontation with O'Brien and two of the young man's friends.

O'Brien's father Rodger read out an emotional victim impact statement during Friday's hearing, and had to pause in his reading when he was overcome by tears.

"The impact of losing my son Silas is immeasurable ... so much pain, sorrow and grief," he said.

"To say it gets easier with time is only spoken by a heart that has not suffered this loss. To suggest that we should be grateful for his 21 years does little alleviate the pain in one's being."

Parent made a tearful apology to the grieving father in court.

While Parent's defence lawyer Vincent Michaels acknowledged that Parent's driving record is "troubling," he pointed out that most of the offences happened before he was 36. Michaels said his client is remorseful and suffers "deeply felt grief and shame" for his role in O'Brien's death.

"In many aspects of his life, Mr. Parent is a loving, compassionate individual," Michaels said, although he admitted that Parent has clear issues with anger management.

The defence lawyer pointed out that Parent came from a troubled home, where there were addiction issues. Michaels is asking for Parent to spend three-to-four years in jail.

On the night of the crash, O'Brien and his friends were headed for the Seattle airport to catch a plane to Hawaii when they caught up to Parent's truck and tried to pass him. Prosecutors said Parent ran their vehicle into a ditch, left the scene and then returned five minutes later after the friends had made their way back onto the road.

O'Brien's friends testified during the trial that Parent drove up while they were inspecting their vehicle for damage. They said they waved their hands in an attempt to get him to stop, but he ignored them, mowed O'Brien down and fled the scene.

Parent admitted on the stand to hearing a bang as he drove away, but said he thought someone had kicked his truck or thrown something at it. He also acknowledged that his behaviour that night was "stupid and childish," but claimed he didn't realize O'Brien was hurt until he learned of his death on a TV news report.

His former common-law wife testified that she heard Parent and his brother laughing and talking in the hot tub outside her bedroom window after the crash.

With files from CTV British Columbia's Michele Brunoro