ST. LOUIS — "My heart dropped in my chest," Shanta Lucius said.
A fuming and sobbing Lucius said she and her family are outraged.
It's after Cedric Dixon was sentenced to 10 years behind bars for causing a car crash that killed Lucius' 20-year-old son, Cornrtail McKinley, and three of his friends.
"To me, the system is saying those kids didn't mean anything that night and they don't mean anything now," Lucius said.
Prosecutors said on the night of Feb. 26 of last year, Dixon sped down city streets, ran a red light, slammed into an SUV and caused it to fly over a guardrail onto Forest Park Parkway.
McKinley, 19-year-old Anthony Robinson, 19-year-old Richard Boyd and 18-year-old Bryanna Johnson died as a result of the crash.
"They told me he was driving 120 miles an hour from Martin Luther King and Grand all the way up to the incident," Lucius said.
McKinley's brother, Courtney, drove their mom's Tahoe that night. The group of kids had just left a restaurant.
Courtney suffered multiple injuries including fractured ribs, punctured lungs, cuts and bruises.
Dixon pleaded guilty to four counts of involuntary manslaughter, assault and leaving the scene.
"It was like a worst nightmare. I couldn't believe it," Courtney said.
Nearly one year later, Courtney said he's still struggling.
"My side is still hurting badly right now. My shoulder is still out and my teeth are still messed up. Mentally, I'm just not the same. I don't want to go to drive and I don't want to go anywhere now," Courtney said.
In court Thursday, the family said Dixon did not apologize to anyone.
"He never even looked at us and he had a smirk on his face," Courtney and his relatives said.
However, Raphael Morris II, Dixon's lawyer, said his client "offered to and offered to accept and received the maximum sentence allowed by law for involuntary manslaughter and assault second degrees."
Morris also said, "Cedric is remorseful for his actions and understands the pain he has caused the families of the victim."
"That system was just a slap in our faces. It's no justice for my son and his friends. My son had a future. All of those kids had a future. They got treated like suspects and they got justice like criminals," Lucius said.