There is disappointment in the sentence, but a certain sense of relief for the mothers of two youth killed in a collision in Pitt Meadows in 2010.
Tuesday, a B.C. Supreme Court judge sentenced Andelina Hecimovic to 90 days in jail, to be served two days a week.
The judge also ruled that Hecimovic must perform 120 hours of community service and two years probabion.
She also received a three-year driving ban.
Hecimovic was convicted of dangerous driving causing the deaths of 21-year-old Johnny de Oliveira and his 19-year-old girlfriend, Rebecca (Beckie) Dyer.
They were on their way home from a Justin Bieber concert.
Hecimovic was driving her Toyota in a right-turn-only lane when she crossed the intersection of Harris Road and Lougheed Highway on a red light.
“Obviously, taking two lives means nothing nowadays in the court system,” said Debbie Dyer.
“I just kind of figured if you take two lives, there should be some sort of repercussions for your actions.”
Dyer was hoping Hecimovic would get what the Crown had asked for, which was 18 to 20 months jail time.
She said her daughter, Beckie, could have done 120 hours of community service easily in two months.
“It’s all over but the crying,” Dyer said, adding that a harsher sentence wouldn’t bring them back, but it would be a deterrent to others in the future.
“Maybe somebody else wouldn’t drive like that if they know they are going to get a penalty for doing so. This is a walk in the park,” she added.
Audrey de Oliveira was also disappointed with the sentence, but is willing to move on.
“I was upset because I figured my purpose was to keep fighting and I just feel like I failed,” she said, pausing to stifle tears.
Dyer and de Oliveira wanted a precedent-setting sentence.
De Oliveira is hoping that the jail term will feel like a long time for Hecimovic.
Dyer is starting a letter-writing campaign to the federal government, asking for stiffer sentences, that de Oliveira is planning to join.
The are also planning another fundraiser in their children’s memory to benefit victim’s services.
The worst, they say, is that, to this day, they don’t believe Hecimovic has shown any remorse.
“She is sorry that it happened, but we all are sorry that it happened. You can say that you are sorry, but meaning the apology is a different thing,” said Dyer.
“If she was truly remorseful, she would have pled guilty from the beginning,” Dyer continued.
De Oliveira wants to thank all the witnesses who went through the trial, especially the man who tried to help their children that night.
De Oliveira wasn’t able to make that portion of the trial and never had the opportunity to thank him in person, although she would like to in the future.
“They visualized it. We weren’t there,” she said, crying.
“And as a mother, I wish I was there to say goodbye.”