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Driver sentenced to 30 months in prison for fatal 2019 hit-and-run

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The driver responsible for a hit-and-run collision that killed a cyclist on Burnaby Mountain in 2019 has been sentenced to 30 months in prison.

Sumeet Mangat, 24, pleaded guilty in October to impaired operation of conveyance causing death and failure to stop after an accident resulting in death.

Mangat was impaired behind the wheel of the SUV that struck and killed 53-year-old Charles Masala while the latter was on his regular weekend bike ride in June 2019.

A father of two, Masala was an engineer with two master's degrees, who moved to Canada from Zambia in 1991.

His widow, Michelle, advocated throughout Mangat's trial for harsher sentences for impaired drivers who cause death. She told CTV News in December that she didn't seen an opportunity for justice in the case, but hoped that harsher sentences would make grieving easier for other families in her position.

"How can we just do something so that the path my family has walked is easier for the next family," she said at the time. "Because there will be a next family."

During his sentencing hearing, Mangat addressed the Masala family in a statement to the court. He said he was remorseful, and wished he could undo the damage that he’d done.

“There are no words in this statement that can capture the remorse, the sorrow, and how sorry I feel,” Mangat told court.

Crown prosecutors asked for a three-to-four-year sentence, while defence told the judge any jail sentence would act as a deterrent, no matter the length.

In addition to the 30-month sentence he received this week, Mangat was also prohibited from driving for seven years.

With files from CTV News Vancouver's David Molko

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