A motorist convicted of causing the deaths of Top Billing presenter Simba Mhere and his passenger‚ Kady-Shay O’Bryan‚ was on Monday sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment.

"The accused on the day embarked on a conduct of extreme proportions. He drove at speed of 166 km/h. The families of the deceased have been traumatised‚" said magistrate David Mahango as he handed down sentence on Preshalin Naidoo in Johannesburg's Randburg Magistrate's Court.

Mhere‚ 26‚ was an up-and-coming television presenter. O’Bryan‚ 29‚ was the mother of a four-year-old girl. On January 31‚ 2015‚ Mhere was driving north on William Nicol Drive and was about to take the off-ramp to OR Tambo airport when a car slammed into them. His father‚ Joseph‚ who was also in the car‚ survived the crash.

Magistrate Mahango said road users were tired of reckless drivers and expected the courts to deal with them and protect their rights by imposing appropriate sentences on accused persons.

"The court has a duty to impose a sentence that will deter the accused and other drivers..."

Mahango said Naidoo was convicted of serious offences.

Naidoo's mother broke down as the court handed down the sentence.

Naidoo's counsel‚ Advocate Francois Roetz‚ informed the court that his client would apply for leave to appeal against both the sentence and conviction.

Naidoo will be kept in custody pending the application for leave to appeal on Tuesday. Earlier in the morning‚ Roetz had argued that Naidoo was not a danger to society and did not deserve to go to jail.

"He poses no danger to anyone. He is economically active. He works and contributes to the fiscus‚" Roetz had argued.

Prosecutor Dinesh Nandkissor had argued that Naidoo had failed to take an opportunity to apologise to both families.

"At no stage did he take steps to the witness box and say 'I'm sorry'.

"He could have taken the responsibility upon himself to say he is sorry."

Nandkissor argued that imposing a correctional supervision sentence would send the wrong message to the public. On Monday morning‚ the prosecution read out victim impact statements from Mhere’s sister Valerie and his father.

“I was robbed. Simba was sitting next to me and the next minute he was gone. Simba and Kady were chatting and laughing and they were taken away‚” said Joseph Mhere.

The Mhere and O'Bryan families welcomed the sentence.

"I think it's appropriate. It won't bring life back‚ but it sends out the message to road users to take responsibility for what they do on the roads‚" said Joseph‚ Mhere's father.

He said the sentence would bring closure to" an extent".

O'Bryan's brother‚ Duane‚ said: "The sentence is appropriate. It is not going to bring Kady and Simba back‚ but I am confident that justice has been served today.

"We still have to go through the emotions of the appeal‚ but we will cross that bridge when we get there."