The father of a man killed in a crash which was wrongfully blamed on him says the trial surrounding the incident has torn his family apart.

Juan Pablo Alvarez told Mounties he was sleeping in the backseat when the vehicle crashed on the Knight Street Bridge in the early morning hours of May 6, 2010.

He indicated that his cousin, 27-year-old Juan Carlos Quijano-Flores, who was killed in the crash, had been behind the wheel.

According to Richmond RCMP, a lengthy investigation involving DNA evidence found in the car and on the road eventually determined Alvarez’s story was a lie.

“It’s been painful. It destroyed a lot of dreams and it destroyed the family,” said Quijano-Flores’ father Carlos Quijano. “[Alvarez] was denying everything until the end.”

Alvarez has since pleaded guilty to impaired driving causing death and dangerous driving causing death.

He publicly apologized for his actions in a Richmond courtroom Wednesday.

Quijano said he’s only comforted by the fact the truth has now come to light.

“I think justice is done. I don’t care if he does one day or 10 years in jail,” he said. “My son’s name will be redeemed after this.”

Alvarez was expected to be sentenced Wednesday, but the decision has been reserved until Feb. 18.