A man who pleaded guilty to a drunk driving incident that killed two of his friends has been jailed for two years.
Ryan Webster — who earlier admitted two counts of operating a motor vehicle with a blood-alcohol level over .08 causing death — was sentenced to two years less a day, three years probation and a five-year driving ban, following a crash along the southern end of No. 4 Road which claimed the lives of brothers Shane, 19, and Jess Moses, 16.
The crown had asked for a three-year sentence for Webster, who is now 23.
In an unusual move, the family of the victims called for a lighter sentence.
“He didn’t mean for it to happen at all,” Jerry Jorger, the victims’ grandfather told Global News. “It’s just one of those things when people are young and they do stupid things, and sometimes it doesn’t work out.”
Webster’s lawyer, Vincent Michaels, said his client took full responsibility for his actions from the very beginning and expressed remorse and shame.
Webster was driving a black BMW south on No. 4 Road around 3 a.m. on May 12, 2012, when he ran off the side of the road past Steveston Highway, hit a tree and spun into a ditch. The right side of the car, where 16-year-old Jess Moses and his 19-year-old brother Shane were sitting, collapsed and the brothers died at the scene.
Webster suffered minor injuries that were treated at the hospital. He was released the same day.
Police said that at the time Webster, then 20, had a Class 7 licence, which required him to drive with an "N" decal on the car. He was not allowed any alcohol in his system when driving and could only carry a single passenger.
