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Driver gets 90 days in jail for fatal Surrey crash

Avinash Prasad has a lengthy record of driving infractions.
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A car (right) driven carelessly by 31-year-old Avinash Prasad landed on top of 42-year-old Sean Arland's car (left)

The driver responsible for a 2009 crash where his speeding car lost control, launched into the air and landed on another, killing a man, has been sentenced to 90 days in jail.

Avinash Prasad, 31, is also banned from driving for four years and was fined $2,000 for the collision that killed 42-year-old father-of-two, Sean Arland.

Prasad was initially charged with dangerous driving causing death, to which he pleaded not guilty. He later pleaded guilty to an offence under the Motor Vehicle Act involving driving without due care and attention, without reasonable consideration for other persons and at an excessive speed.

He was 27 on the morning of March 28, 2009 when he was driving near 176 Street on 64 Avenue. He was seen by witnesses to be speeding and changing lanes as he approached the intersection. As he changed lanes to pass another car, he hit a road curb, overcompensated and veered across both lanes of the road.

According to a recent sentencing report, he then hit a small cement centre median with such force and speed that his car was "rendered airborne" and came down on Arland's car. Arland was pronounced dead at the scene.

Prasad's sentence was delivered in New Westminster Supreme Court in mid-October and posted online on Friday (Nov. 2).

The judge noted that "in all respects other than his driving" he seems to be a responsible and contributing member of society. He has no criminal record, but according to Crown prosecutors, had 17 driving infractions, including four for speeding, five for disobeying traffic control devices, and three 24-hour driving prohibitions, one of which was imposed in April 2012.

A witness to the 2009 crash said Prasad's driving was aggressive enough that he noted the car's licence plate, saying he was driving "like an idiot," although he chose not to call 911.

Prior to sentencing, Arland's wife and the eldest of his two daughters read victim impact statements in court.

"The loss suffered by friends and family is immense and incalculable," said Justice Murray Blok, noting no sentence would bring them comfort.

"If only all careless and irresponsible drivers were here so that they could make the connection between their actions and the all too common consequences of their actions."