Teen sentenced in pickup crash death

The 16-year-old driver of a speeding pickup that crashed and killed a classmate was sentenced Thursday to a juvenile youth camp and community service.

In Family Court, David Jensen apologized to the family of 15-year-old Olivia Hyten for the Nov. 14 crash, which killed her and severely injured her boyfriend, Stephen Lubawy.

"I'm so sorry this happened," Jensen said. "I lost one of my best friends. ... I wish I could take that back."

The Coronado High School student pleaded guilty last month to involuntary manslaughter and aggressive driving. The Henderson teenager was speeding at 62 mph in a 25-mph zone when his Chevrolet Silverado hit a curb and rolled on a winding stretch of Grand Hills Drive, near Eastern Avenue and Sun City Anthem Drive.

Hyten, who was not wearing a seat belt, was partially thrown from the vehicle and died at the scene. Lubawy suffered broken vertebrae.

Dozens of relatives and friends from both sides filled all 64 seats in the courtroom.

Family Court Judge William Voy, who kept a picture of Hyten with him as he handed down the sentence, ordered Jensen to the Spring Mountain Youth Camp, a county-run facility where juveniles must complete a six-month program before being released.

Voy also ordered the teen to complete 500 hours of community service speaking to other youths. Jensen cannot drive again until he turns 21.

"The court's supposed to try to fix things," Voy said. "You can't fix this. That's for an authority much higher than this court, that's for sure."

Prosecutor Mary Brown had asked Voy to send Jensen to a state-run juvenile facility.

She told the judge that passengers in Jensen's truck told him to slow down.

"They asked him to stop, and he chose instead to keep going despite their pleas, 'I don't want to die,'" she said.

Jensen's lawyer, Bill Terry, painted a picture of remorse.

"Whatever penalty you give to David will not be as great as the penalty he is putting himself through," Terry said.

After describing the loss of her daughter, Teresa Brandise talked of putting a memorial page in the Coronado yearbook. She suggested pictures of her daughter and Jensen, with a phrase: "These are our two greatest teachers this year. Did we learn the lesson?"