A learner driver has been sent to prison for being behind the wheel of a non-compliant car when he crashed into a north Canterbury home while high on cannabis, killing 18-year-old Zara Mitchell.
Adam Rapson was jailed for three-and-a-half years at the Christchurch District Court on Tuesday.
Rapson's family in the public gallery for the sentencing stood up and said, "I love you" after Justice Rachel Dunningham handed down the sentence.
Rapson, 18, earlier pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
He also admitted driving on a learner's licence without a qualified person, driving a vehicle that had been ordered off the road and fleeing police officers. He was convicted and discharged on those counts.
The crash happened in the early hours of September 17, after what police described as illegal street racing in the north Canterbury rural community of Fernside.
Before the sentence was handed down on Tuesday, Mitchell's mother bravely spoke of how she forgave Rapson and the "stupid choice" he made in the heat of the moment that ended in her daughter's death.
While she couldn't forgive the "precious moments she stole from us", Mitchell's mother said she supports Rapson "as Zara would've wanted and recognise the soul-crushing guilt that he faces".
In handing down her sentence, Justice Dunningham told Rapson it was up to him "to show that the faith people have in you to turn your life around is warranted".
In addition to his jail sentence, he was disqualified from driving for three years, starting upon his release from prison.
