Street racer sentenced to three years in prison

A 20-year-old Quebec man was sentenced to three years in prison for a drag racing accident that killed two of his friends.

Two years ago, Frederick Garneau was behind the wheel when he lost control of his car and hit a lamppost. Two girls riding in the car with him died as a result of the crash. Evidence in the trial revealed that Garneau drank five cans of beer before the accident.

The court also heard that Garneau reached speeds of 150 kilometres per hour in a drag race with another driver. The posted speed limit was only 50 kilometers an hour. In June, he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing two deaths.

"My daughter asked him, 'Stop! Please, stop, stop, stop,'" said Gilles Emard, the father of one of the dead girls. "But he didn't. He didn't listen."

Emard's wife wrote a letter to the court before sentencing. In it she said that she has been in a severe depression for the past two years. She also told the judge that she hasn't been able to leave her home.

Emard said he hopes Garneau's sentence sends a message to other young people. "That will give some people, some parents, the opportunity to say to their children, 'You see, if you drink, if you drive, if you have an accident, that's what is going to happen to you.'"

Quebec has had several high-profile dangerous driving cases recently. On Sunday, demonstrators in a Montreal suburb took to the streets to denounce reckless drivers. Quebec lawmakers also moved this week to enact tougher driving laws.

Legal insiders say Garneau's sentence is on the severe side of sentencing for similar cases. Defence lawyers had asked for a sentence of two years to be served in the community. Instead, the judge handed prosecutors the three year sentence they had wanted.

"What we want is (for) other people to realize what he did, that they could be in the same position if they do it," said Crown Prosecutor Isabelle Gelinas.

Garneau could be out on parole in one year.

With a report from CTV Montreal's Rob Lurie.

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