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Ex-Canadian official's son sent to prison

OTTAWA, Aug. 31 (UPI) -- John "Jack" Tobin, the son of ex-Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Brian Tobin, was sentenced to three years in prison Wednesday for a drunken driving death.

The 24-year-old also was banned from driving for seven years, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

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Tobin pleaded guilty to impaired driving causing death in the Dec. 24 incident in which his friend, Alex Zolpis, 24, was fatally pinned under a truck in an Ottawa parking garage.

Authorities say the two had been drinking with friends at a bar before going to the parking garage where Tobin began driving a pickup truck in wild 180-degree turns and hit Zolpis. Another man also was hit but survived.

In sentencing Tobin, Judge Lise Maisonneuve said he had been "gravely irresponsible."

Prosecutors sought at least five years in prison and a 10-year driving ban, noting Tobin had a history of driving offenses and license revocations.

Tobin's attorney requested his client receive no more than 30 months behind bars and his license lifted for five years.

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