An Essex man has been sentenced to four years in prison for killing a Windsor couple in a drunk driving crash.
Gerald DeCoste, 54, pleaded guilty to two counts of exceeding the legal limit of blood-alcohol causing the deaths of 66-year-old Larry and Patricia Best.
Before being sentenced, DeCoste turned to the family in court and said, "I'm not making excuses, I'm sorry, I hate me. I can't even stand myself."
In August 2017, the husband and wife were riding their motorcycle on County Rd. 46 and Manning Rd. in Lakeshore when DeCoste ran a red light and struck them.
In court Thursday, the couple was described by family and friends as having beautiful souls and they expressed feelings of anger, sadness and disbelief over the loss.
Defence lawyer Bobby Russon says this has been tough on his client.
"He has been an emotional wreck from day one," says Russon. "Obviously you can't compare how he feels to how the family feels, but he is not holding up great, he is accepting of his punishment and he expected it from the get go."
He says DeCoste now recognizes he has an alcohol problem and he hasn't had a drink since the crash.
"In his pre-sentence report, he described himself as a functioning alcoholic. Before he hadn't realised it and this was the wake up call."
Outside of court, Best's daughter Lisa Grehan says the family can now move on in their healing process.
"I'm just feeling really relieved that this day is over with and I can start my healing journey a little better," she says. "I was glad to see Mr.DeCoste was remorseful, I could tell he was remorseful and going into this all I kept saying is that I just want him to say he is sorry to me."
Grehan is accepting of the sentence noting from what she had learned, the four-year sentence is in the normal range.
"I know he is going to have to live with this for the rest of his life," she says.
Although the court case has now come to a close, she says her biggest regret is that her loving parents won't see her daughter grow up.
"My mom used to babysit Emma and my dad would come over and that's what bothers me the most, they only saw her for three and a half years."
DeCoste will be prohibited from driving for three years after he is released from prison.