WINNIPEG – A young woman who was texting and driving under the influence of alcohol when she ran a red light and hit another vehicle, killing two teenagers, pleaded guilty Monday.
Amutha Subramaniam, 17, and Senhit Mehari, 19, were killed on Oct. 30, 2010, when their car was T-boned on Bishop Grandin Boulevard at St. Mary’s Road.
The young driver who hit their car, 17 at the time of the crash, pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal negligence causing death and two counts of criminal negligence causing bodily harm on Monday morning.
She ran a red light while texting on her Blackberry, the court was told. Her blood-alcohol level of between .07 and .12; .08 is the limit for drivers under criminal law. The young driver, who had just left a party, was also speeding — her cruise control was set 20 kilometres per hour over the speed limit.
In 2010, a police investigation found the young woman was driving westbound on Bishop Grandin Boulevard when she collided with a southbound car on St. Mary’s Road.
Her name is under a publication ban because she was a youth at the time of the crash.
Impaired and dangerous driving charges against her were stayed in favour of the more serious charges, the Crown said.
The Crown wants the young woman to be sentenced as an adult and will seek “significant penitentiary time.”
The defence wants her to be sentenced as a youth, which carries a maximum sentence of three years.
There were three other people injured in the crash, including Lysbeth Arthur, 18, who spent a month in a coma, and the driver of the car that was hit, Yohanna Asghedom, 18. Arthur was sharing the backseat with the two friends who died.
Michael Baffoe, who is a friend of Arthur’s family, said the young driver should be sentenced as an adult.
“Two people are dead, and I think she should have pleaded guilty a long time ago,” he said. “She was closer to 18 and committing an adult crime, so I think it’s in order that the Crown seeks adult sentencing.”
The University of Manitoba students were on their way home from a Halloween party when their vehicle was hit.
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