EAST BRIDGEWATER, Mass. — A teen driver convicted of killing four of his friends after he crashed into a tree in East Bridgewater will only be serving time in custody for a few months.
The car in the East Bridgewater crash was destroyed. Five teens were inside, four of them were killed. Naiquan Hamilton, who was 17 at the time, was driving and prosecutors say he was high on marijuana.
"He drove 80 in a 40 in the wrong lane of a two-lane road so he could be cool, and he killed four people," the judge said.
Hamilton was acquitted of the charge involving marijuana but convicted of the misdemeanor motor-vehicle homicide charge. The judge is committing Hamilton to the Department of Youth Services.
Related: 4 Stoughton students dead, 1 injured in violent East Bridgewater crash
Brittney Joyce’s little brother, Nicholas, was one of the teens killed.
"He was getting recruited for track and field,” she said of her brother. “He had a love for the Oregon Ducks. That was his dream school."
Some of the victims’ families wanted the teen driver to get actual jail time.
"He destroyed four lives," said Richard Joyce, Nicholas’ father. "His life goes on; our life stops at that moment. We have to find a way to move on."
PREVIOUS: Driver in fatal East Bridgewater crash that killed 4 indicted by grand jury
“Honestly it’s never really justice because you can’t bring back your loved one,” Brittney added.
Hamilton's case is one of many recent cases since the law changed involving marijuana where the suspect was acquitted because prosecutors say there is no specific test to measure if someone is too high to drive.
His attorney told the judge her client is remorseful.
"It's also undisputed there is no evil intent here and if Naiquan could take back that day he would do anything to do so," said Laura Alfring, Hamilton’s defense attorney.
>>>MORE: Stoughton HS students grieve loss of 4 teens killed in crash
Hamilton will serve his sentence in the juvenile system.
© 2020 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/U3KVMHHAJRDSPC7W4IORI5TYPM.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/DPCDKK6YTFDOZMJYCNGBMXUWWA.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/GT7NQWKTJRDRLEQ6SBPWVXRHME.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7TS2LZTFNSW5PHM2Z6NQ2LMP3Q.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/3TC4EXV7IFA4ZPFQYK4NC6ISMM.png)