A young man who acted as the starter in a fatal street race in Mississauga was sentenced on Tuesday.

The man can only be identified as M.R. because he was 16 years old when he acted as the "flagman” in a 2008 street race on a Mississauga industrial road.

On Tuesday he was sentenced to two years probation, 100 hours of community service and he will later have to write an essay that will be used by police in anti-street racing campaigns.

M.R. was in court with members of his family. He told the court he was sorry and that if he could turn back time, he would try to stop the race.

Justice Robert Kelly said M.R. should have known that the street race he was participating in could cause harm. (Alex Tavshunsky/CBC)

Instead, he acted as the race’s starter, dropping his jacket to send three drivers speeding down the street. Darren D’Souza, 20, lost control of his Honda and was killed when his car struck a light standard on Argentia Road, north of Derry Road West.

M.R. was found guilty in December of dangerous driving by street racing causing death.

The two surviving drivers have also been charged and sentenced to jail time. They are also both barred from driving for four years.

On Tuesday, Justice Robert Kelly said even though M.R. wasn’t driving and was only 16, he still participated in a crime and should have realized the harm it could cause.