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A young Winnipeg woman has been given the maximum youth sentence for killing two university students and seriously injuring another while driving drunk, speeding and texting.

The accused, who was 17 at the time of the October 2010 tragedy, broke down in tears Wednesday after learning her fate. She had been seeking simple probation which would have kept her out of custody.

Instead, the now 21-year-old now faces two years behind bars at Headingley women’s jail, plus one year of community supervision. That’s still much less than the five-year adult sentence the Crown had been seeking on the grounds the Youth Criminal Justice Act couldn’t provide sufficient sanctions for this tragedy.

Queen’s Bench Justice Karen Simonsen essentially rejected the positions of both Crown and defence lawyers in reaching her decision.

"The consequences of her many transgressions were tragic," Simonsen said before a packed courtroom, which included dozens of family and friends of the victims. Many were wearing white shirts bearing the photos of the two women who died, and "Don’t Drink And Drive" written on the back.

"I recognize no sentence I impose, adult or otherwise, will bring back the lives that have been lost," said Simonsen. She said the Crown did not meet the heavy burden required to give a youth an adult sentence. Lawyers have 30 days to decide whether they will appeal.

Senhit Mehari, 19, and Amutha Subramaniam, 17, suffered fatal injuries as they drove home from a Halloween party. Both were graduates of Dakota Collegiate and were studying business administration at the University of Manitoba.

The women, along with three friends, were heading south in a Pontiac Sunfire on St. Mary's Road when a westbound Chevrolet Cavalier ran a red light and slammed into the driver's side of the Sunfire at the intersection of Bishop Grandin Boulevard. The victims were minutes from home when they were hit.

Following the crash, the girl admitted to police she knew it was a poor choice but did it anyway. "People had to die for me to know it was wrong," she said.

An examination of the accused's phone showed she was texting with friends at the time of the crash. She also had alcohol in her system -- in the range of between .07 and .12 based on an extrapolation. The Crown originally laid impaired-driving charges but stayed those on the grounds there was doubt as to whether she would have been over the legal limit of .08 at the time of impact, because blood wasn't taken until some time after the crash.

Instead, she dragged out the case for nearly five years before finally pleading guilty to two counts of criminal negligence causing death and two counts of criminal negligence causing bodily harm just as her trial was set to stgart.

Following the crash, she told police and paramedics she had downed "half a bottle" of rum that evening. She also raised eyebrows with some of her post-offence conduct, which the Crown argued showed the need for a stronger deterrent.

"My driver's licence is very precious to me," she explained to an officer almost immediately after her arrest while quizzing him on how long she might lose it for. Later that night, when informed she would be released on bail, the driver bristled when told her conditions would include abstaining from alcohol.

"Does that mean I can't drink on my 18th birthday?" she asked.

Family members of the victims read powerful impact statements during sentencing submissions earlier this year.

"I was robbed of my sister, my mentor, my best friend," Yonatan Mehari told court. His statement, read on behalf of the family, described Senhit as a "rising star" who was going to make a huge impact on the world.

"She was an amazing and beautiful person inside and out. Senhit was humble, selfless, motivated, intelligent and one of the hardest-working people I know. It's hard to meet another person like her," he said.

Heidi Subramaniam, sister of Amutha, lashed out at the young driver for causing so much pain.

"I was her big sister. I failed to protect her from someone who had no regard for human life," she told court. "She was sweet, loving, carrying, honest. She deserves justice. Her dreams were taken away without her consent. Her future was taken away without her consent. One person's reckless, preventable behaviour ruined her life and now ours as well."

MELISSA TAIT / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Lysbeth Arthur stands outside the Law Courts after sentencing in the youth drunk driving case that killed her two friends Senhit Mehari, 19, and Amutha Subramaniam, 17, and left Arthur with a brain injury and partial paralysis.

Court also heard from the other occupants of the vehicle who were injured. They described how fortunate they were to survive the crash that killed their two friends.

"It was a bad dream that I woke up to every day," said Lysbeth Arthur, who suffered a broken clavicle and permanent brain injury that required extensive rehabilitation. She was left comatose for several weeks.

"We lost two great people who were going to make a positive contribution to society," she said.

Crown attorney Susan Baragar told court the accused had made the decision to drink and drive that night -- even though she was a novice driver on probation, which meant she wasn't allowed to have alcohol in her system when behind the wheel. She had been drinking at a house party that night and was going about 20 km/h over the speed limit at the moment of impact.

"I understand why you all hate me, why you want the worst to happen to me and why you think I’m a monster," the young woman told court earlier this year during sentencing submissions.

She said not a day goes by she doesn’t regret her deadly mistakes.

"It pains me to know my actions have caused a lifetime of pain for all of you. I made the choice to make poor decisions that day," she said. "The damage I’ve done is permanent and it hurts me to know there’s nothing I can do to undo it."

A forensic report shows the woman is a low-risk to re-offend who has suffered from suicidal thoughts, anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Simonsen said Wednesday she also had a lack of good "role modelling" from her mother, who has battled alcohol issues through her life.

"She had a feeling of invincibility," said Simonsen.

Court heard how the deadly driver admits she had driven after drinking alcohol on "three or four" prior occasions and routinely texted while driving despite admittedly having some "close calls."

"She indicated she would often text and drive because she felt she was able to multitask," said Baragar.

On the night of the tragedy, friends tried to stop her from getting into her car after consuming a large quantity of rum at a house party.

"Friends actually tried to take her keys away from her but she got mad at them and wouldn’t let them," said Baragar.

As well, court heard about a series of text messages the girl had exchanged with friends – both on the night of the incident and several days earlier – where they pleaded with her not to drink and drive.

"This is not a one-off," said Baragar. "The bad choice was made while sober. And that is an aggravating factor."

Following the crash, the girl admitted to police she knew it was a poor choice but did it anyway.

"People had to die for me to know it was wrong," she said.

Defence lawyer Todd Bourcier told court his client has "grown as a person" in the lengthy time since the incident and insisted her remorse is legitimate.

"She’s not putting on a show. She is genuinely sorry for what happened," he said. "She did not set out that night to kill people. She did not want to hurt people."

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