The teen driver in the Surrey car crash that killed Sanjeeve Sharma has been sentenced to six months of house arrest for dangerous driving.
The teen was just 17 when the Chevrolet Malibu he was driving clipped another car before crashing into a lamppost in June 2009. Fifteen-year-old Sharma, one of two teenage passengers in the Malibu, died in hospital.
The driver, who cannot be named because of his age, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death and will also serve 18 months' probation.
Surrey provincial court heard Monday that he had only a learner's permit at the time of the crash. He took his mother's car without permission, downed three shots of vodka with Sharma and other friends and then drove recklessly at speeds reaching upwards of 100 kilometres per hour.
His blood-alcohol level tested above the legal limit.
Sharma's mother Sara told CTV News that the teen pretended to be a novice driver – the next stage in the graduated licensing system.
"He actually deceived us, and everybody and his friends too, by putting an ‘N.' You think he knows how to drive," she said.
The young driver lost his "L" licence for 18 months, but the court heard that he was given a new permit in January 2011 and was back on the road.
As part of his sentence, he is now prohibited from driving for three-and-a-half years, must have no drugs or alcohol and has to submit a DNA sample.
Sharma's parents are asking for the driving age to be raised to 19 years old to prevent further tragedy.
"We have lost our future, our hope, our dreams," Sara Sharma said.
"We're supposed to die, not our children. They're supposed to outlive us. He's supposed to bury me."
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Julia Foy
