Drunk driver to serve 30 months in deadly tow truck crash

Steven Watkins was sentenced to 30 months in prison Wednesday for killing tow truck driver Amanda Frizzley in a spectacular downtown Winnipeg vehicle crash in 2007.

Frizzley, 26, was killed early on the morning of Sept. 30, 2007, when her tow truck was hit by a sport utility vehicle being driven at high speed the wrong way down a one-way street.

Watkins, 22,pleaded guilty Wednesday to impaired driving causing death, while a number of lesser charges against him were stayed.

The judge in the case approved a joint Crown-defence recommendation for a 30-month prison sentence.

Amanda Frizzley's mother, Janet, gave a lengthy and tear-filled victim-impact statement to the court, saying she has been so overcome with grief that she has not been able to work or sleep much following the loss of her daughter.

Still, she said outside the courtroom, that she and husband Craig were content with the sentence.

The couple have been sharing their story in the classroom with Winnipeg teens since Amanda's death.

They say they will continue to warn young people about the effects of drinking and driving.

"We feel very good about the verdict today," Janet Frizzley said. "We were looking for a strong penalty for Steven's actions."

Police said at the time of the crash that the SUV was travelling the wrong way on a one-way street and the impact was strong enough to flip Frizzley's tow truck onto its roof.

Frizzley was killed and a passenger in her tow truck was injured.Watkins, driving the SUV, alsoended up in hospital with serious injuries.

Frizzley worked for Dr. Hook Towing of Winnipeg.

At the time,the youngwomanand other tow truck drivers were busy clearing the downtown of vehicles to make way for a charity run to benefit cancer research.

The force of the crash was loud enough to awaken residents in highrise apartmentsin the neighbourhood.

Following the crash, more than 100 friends and family members shared their condolences and memories of "Mandy" in a group set up on the social networking website Facebook.

She was rememberedas an upbeat, popular and caring woman with a "contagious smile." On the day following the incident, several tow truck drivers gathered at the scene to pay their respects to Frizzley.

Court was told Watkins was driving withmore than twice the legal blood-alcohol limit and that his family had received death threats following the incident.