The 17-year-old woman responsible for a deadly crash in August 2014 that took the lives of two of her friends and severely injured a third was sentenced Monday to a two-year probation term and a three-year driving ban.

Judge John Faulkner handed out the afternoon sentence in youth court.

The driver – who was 15 at the time of the accident and can’t be named because of her age – had pleaded guilty Monday morning to a charge of dangerous driving causing death.

Killed in the collision were a 15-year-old student of Vanier Catholic Secondary School, and 20-year-old Brendan Kinney, a graduate of Porter Creek Secondary School.

Derrick Gibbons, 18, was severely injured and had to be flown to Vancouver for care.

The sentencing hearing proceeded at 2 p.m. in a packed courtroom where the driver, her family and the victims’ families were present.

The defence and Crown had made a joint submission for the two-year probation term.

For the first eight months of the probation term, the driver will have to abide by a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, except for work or with the presence of her parents.

She will have to complete 240 hours of community service within the next 12 months.

On Aug. 9, 2014, the driver had been partying with her friends.

She admitted to drinking vodka and smoking pot that night.

Blood analysis revealed she had inactive THC in her blood – meaning it wouldn’t have impacted her behaviour at the time of the accident. Her blood-alcohol level was at .01 when drawn at 6 a.m. that day.

She had also been driving with only a learner’s permit.

At around 3 a.m. that night, she was driving with her friends when she made an unexpected left turn on the Alaska Highway in front of a semi.

She was northbound on the Alaska Highway, while the truck was southbound.

She was in the centre lane, without the turn signal on, when she tried to turn onto Hamilton Boulevard.

The truck driver couldn’t brake in time to avoid the impact.

The impact was so violent, the truck had to be backed up out of the Honda Accord, and the car’s roof had to be cut away to extract the victims.

Kinney was pronounced dead at the scene. A 15-year-old female passenger succumbed to her injuries later at Whitehorse General Hospital.

Gibbons was first stabilized, then medevaced to Vancouver, where he underwent two brain surgeries.

“The impulsive and ill-considered decision of a youth resulted in devastating consequences,” said the judge.

Unlike for adults, young offenders are sentenced under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, which has different sentencing ranges and guidelines.

Before considering a jail sentence, the judge is required to consider all alternatives available.

Faulkner thanked the families and Gibbons for providing victim impact statements to the court.

“As a parent, it occurs to me it must have extremely difficult to recall these life-altering events,” he said.

The driver’s lawyer, Bob Aloneissi, noted there were mitigating circumstances in this case: the offender’s age, the remorse she expressed, and the lack of prior record.

In the morning, Aloneissi read out a statement the driver had written, expressing remorse for the deaths of her friends (see story, p. 3).

At the end of the sentencing hearing, the judge turned to the young woman.

“What happened cannot be undone,” he said.

He urged her to make something good out of her life, as ruining her own would not honour her friend’s lives.

“Try to live, and live with purpose,” he said.

“Try to make the world a better place,” he said, his voice breaking.

Faulkner quickly adjourned the hearing and left the courtroom.