Fatal Vancouver hit-and-run driver sentenced [Video]

The man behind the wheel in a fatal hit-and-run crash in Vancouver’s Kitsilano area two years ago was handed his sentence Friday.

Alexandre Romero-Arata was given five years in prison minus two years and six months as credit for time served. He will also be banned from driving for eight years.

Romero-Arata pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing death after the June 19, 2022, crash that killed 24-year-old Irish national Eoghan Byrne.

Surveillance video of the collision was played in court showing a sedan speeding toward Byrne and his friend Mike McGovern as they cross the street at West 4th Avenue near Arbutus Street.

Romero-Arata’s vehicle hits Byrne and does not stop.

Byrne’s grieving family travelled from Ireland to Vancouver to read victim impact statements at the driver’s sentencing hearing.

Speaking outside the courthouse minutes after the sentencing Friday, Byrne’s father Eugene said the family was “devastated, broken-hearted (and) drowning with grief.”

“This will be our third Christmas …