A woman convicted of killing an Ottawa teenager in September while driving drunk has been sentenced to six years in prison.

A court sketch shows Samira Mohamed Daoud as she appeared in court in September to face charges related to the death of teenager Alex Hayes. ((Laureen Foster-MacLeod)) Samira Mohamed Daoud, 41, of Ottawa, pleaded guilty in December to impaired driving causing death.

Alex Hayes, 16, was struck by a vehicle on Bank Street, near Mitch Owens Road in southern Ottawa, while biking home from work on Sept. 9 last year.

Daoud also admitted to mischief for breaking a phone at the police station during her arrest and three breaches of probation — which included court orders to stay out of trouble and to not drink alcohol. She had been convicted a few years ago for impaired driving and had to pay a fine of $600.

10-year driving ban

Ontario Court of Justice judge Célynne S. Dorval also banned Daoud from driving for 10 years.

Alex Hayes was killed when he was hit by a drunk driver in September. (Courtesy of the Hayes family) Dorval said the sentence reflected a general trend towards longer sentences for offences involving drinking and driving.

She said while she understood Daoud did have an addiction to alcohol, she should have been aware of the risks associated with the decision to drive her car.

About 40 friends of family members of Hayes were in attendance at courtroom 37 of the Ottawa courthouse when the sentence was read. Many wore T-Shirts that read "More time for the crime."

Dorval said in her ruling that the T-shirts were akin to a political protest and created an "inappropriate atmosphere." But she did not ask the family to leave the courtroom given "the trauma suffered by the victim's family.

"This type of demonstration should never occur again," she said.

'He had so many plans'

The boy's mother, Penny-Ann Hayes, said in her victim impact statement last month that she wanted to see more severe penalties for drunk driving.

"Alex will never get his driver's licence, the handbook is still sitting on his dresser waiting for him to study," Hayes said.

"He will never get to graduate high school, or college. He had so many plans for the future."

Hayes, a high school student, had been returning home from his part-time job at MacKinnon's Foodland in the village of Greely shortly after 9 p.m. ET when he was struck and killed on Bank Street, just south of Mitch Owens Road.

The driver continued driving, but was pulled over by police less than five kilometres away at around 9:30 p.m.

Court has heard that at the time of her arrest, Daoud did not tell police she had struck anybody. The teen's body was found in a ditch after midnight.