OWEN SOUND, Ont — A 21-year-old driver who killed three people while passing on a highway unsafely two years ago near Shallow Lake, Ont, was sentenced Friday to one year in jail.

Keifer Stevens, of Brooklin, Ont, collided with an oncoming car on Aug. 8, 2010, killing his best friend in the passenger seat, as well as a woman and her son in the other car.

Stevens was found guilty of three counts of dangerous driving causing death in Owen Sound, Ont, court.

Justice Gisele Miller also setenced Stevens, who was 19 at the time of the crash, to a three-year driving ban.

Miller said the three deaths are a consequence of “Mr. Stevens’ deliberate risk-taking behaviour."

Maureen Blake, 52, and her son, Mark Blake, 18, of Hamilton, Ont., died when their northbound Toyota crested the hill, entered the northbound shoulder then spun in an attempt to avoid Stevens, the judge found.

Daniel Caldwell, 19, of Bowmanville, Ont., a passenger in Stevens’ car and his best friend, also died.
Stevens was in a wheelchair for months after the crash with arm and heel injuries.