'No justice' in Prosa's 5-year sentence, victim's family says
Brian Wijeratne tells Metro Morning there's no excuse for drunk driving
A family torn apart by a deadly drunk driving crash is calling for tougher sentencing in similar cases today after the driver, Sabastian Prosa, was sentenced to five years in prison Tuesday.
Prosa was 19 at the time of the 2012 collision. He is also banned from driving for eight years. Back in June, Prosa was found guilty of 12 charges including impaired driving causing death.
"We had to go through such a torturous trial for this outcome, and this outcome doesn't feel like justice at all," Brian Wijeratne told Metro Morning host Matt Galloway today. Wijeratne lost his father and sister in the crash.
"Justice to me is sending a clear message that drunk driving has no excuses … that getting behind the wheel of a vehicle and killing people is no different than any other kind of murder."
Prosa was behind the wheel of a GMC Envoy that was going the wrong way on a Toronto-area highway when he struck a van carrying Jayanatha Neil Wijeratne, along with his wife, Antonette, and their 16-year-old daughter, Eleesha, in August 2012. Jayantha Wijeratne, 49, and his daughter died in the crash, while Antonette Wijeratne suffered severe injuries.
Prosa had pleaded not guilty to all charges against him, arguing that while he did have nearly double the legal limit of alcohol in his system at the time of the crash, he believed his drink had been spiked on that night.
Wijeratne called that argument "crazy" and is shocked that his family still hasn't been contacted by Prosa or Prosa's family.
"After doing all of that how can you show no remorse … when the judge asks if you have anything to say to the family and you say no, and you sit back down, what is that?"
An emotional Antonette Wijeratne, who has been present throughout the high-profile trial, told reporters gathered outside Tuesday that she "expected more" from the sentencing.
Prosa's decision to drive drunk was "selfish and stupid," Wijeratne said, adding the crash "destroyed" her family.
She also called on the government to stiffen penalties for impaired driving and asked parents to educate their children about the dangers of drunk driving.