TORONTO

If only he had taken it like a man.

If only Sabastian Prosa had pleaded guilty way back when this all began, apologized to the family he decimated, threw himself on the mercy of the court. If only he had taken responsibility for driving drunk and killing Jayantha Wijeratne and his 16-year-old daughter, Eleesha, in a head-on collision almost three years ago.

If only the Bolton man had said he was just 19, he was stupid, he was so, so sorry. How differently this all could have played out.

Instead, the York University student mounted a nonsensical defence — that someone must have spiked his shots with a club drug while he was out partying with his pals at a downtown bar — and dragged the Wijeratne family through a painful and protracted trial. And for what? In the end, Prosa has been found guilty of all 12 charges laid against him.

Guilty of two counts of impaired driving causing death, Guilty of impaired driving causing bodily harm. Guilty on two counts of causing death by driving a car while over the legal limit and another of causing bodily harm. Guilty of two counts dangerous driving causing death and one of causing bodily harm. Guilty of two counts of criminal negligence causing death and another of causing bodily harm.

Crown attorney Tom Goddard told reporters he will ask for jail time when Prosa’s sentencing hearing begins at the end of August. In the meantime, he remains free on bail.

On Aug. 5, 2012, Prosa had spent the evening drinking at a friend’s home and then a designated driver took them to Skybar where he continued doing shots. He insists he doesn’t remember anything that followed and that something besides having almost double the legal alcohol limit must have caused his bizarre behaviour.

Shortly before 3 a.m., he was driving north on Hwy. 427 in his GMC Envoy when he suddenly made a U-turn and began speeding south in the wrong direction. He headed on to the ramp meant for vehicles exiting the QEW and slammed head-on into the Wijeratne’s minivan.

Their family of four was suddenly severed in half. Together with his wife and daughter, Jayantha was driving home from Florida after realizing his lifelong dream of visiting NASA; son Brian had stayed at home to take summer courses.

He will never forget the knock on the door or the two sombre police officers who told him his dad and sister were dead and his mom, Antonette, was severely injured. “It’s extreme anguish,” he recalled softly. “It’s indescribable.”

He and his mother have lost so much, and then to have the man responsible claim it was all the fault of a mysterious drugging still makes him seethe.

“He’s an absolute coward,” Brian Wijeratne said vehemently, flanked by his mom and relatives and friends, all holding portraits of the proud father and his beautiful daughter. “He’s heartless. To do all of that and not to take any responsibility for it, to keep putting us through this again and again, I can’t put into words how angry, how outraged and how disrespected that I feel.”

“Since January, it was like rubbing salt on our painful wounds,” added his mother.

But they are grateful, he said, that “this judge has seen through all the lies.”

Prosa showed no emotion as Justice Glenn Hainey delivered his verdict, telling the young man he was “troubled” by his evasive testimony and didn’t accept his claim of total memory loss or that his drink had been spiked.

“I do not believe his testimony that he had no recollection of any events from when he was at Skybar until he woke up in the hospital. I find that he is tailoring his evidence to support his defence of involuntary intoxication.”

As for someone slipping him a drug, the judge said the theory has “no air of reality” since Prosa was downing shots and there was no unattended drink involved. The horrific collision, he concluded, was “due solely to alcohol that he voluntarily consumed and was not due to his drink being spiked at Skybar.”

Guilty times 12.

How much easier it would be for Prosa to blame this tragedy on someone else. Instead, this is his guilt he must bear for the rest of his life.

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