The man who caused the Halloween night car accident that killed Oak Harbor twin sisters and injured their friend two years ago will spend the next four years in prison.

Judge Dave Needy in Skagit County Superior Court sentenced Oak Harbor resident Ira Blackstock, 54, during a hearing this morning.

During the hearing, Blackstock apologized for the fatal crash, saying he has great remorse. The crash killed 17-year-old sisters Janeah and Janesah Goheen and seriously injured their friend, 18-year-old Alysha Pickler.

“I would truly trade places with them if I could,” he said.

He also said he didn’t know how he lost control of his car.

A jury found Blackstock guilty following a trial last month of two counts of vehicular homicide and one count of vehicular assault.

Skagit County Prosecutor Richard Weyrich asked the judge to impose the four-year sentence, which was the maximum under the standard sentencing range. He argued that Blackstock “did everything wrong” on the day of the accident, from driving on bald tires to speeding on wet roads.

“His conduct was unacceptable,” he said. “Reprehensible, in my opinion.”

He noted that twins’ parents couldn’t bear to attend the hearings in the case. They lost another daughter in a car crash in 2008.

Pickler testified at trial and submitted a victim’s impact statement detailing the serious injuries and the emotional toll still affect her life.

“The loss of my best friend, Janesah Goheen, and her twin sister Janeah is the hardest part,” she wrote. “I do not go a day without thinking what my life would be like if this never happened, if my best friend was still here. I also have to live with everyday that out of all three of us girls in that car I was the only one who made it which is the hardest thing I have to live with, I feel guilty that I’m able to continue my life while theirs is over.”

Wednesday, Blackstock’s attorney, Tom Fryer of Bellingham, spoke only briefly, asking Needy to impose a middle-of-the-range sentence. He refereed the judge to the sentencing memorandum, which detailed the accomplishments in Blackstock’s life and his support from family and friends.

In his comments, Needy noted the many letters of support that were submitted on Blackstock’s behalf. He said he was not judging Blackstock as a person, but for his actions that led to the deaths.

“This was a a very tragic loss of two girls who had their whole lives ahead of them,” he said.

“Their whole futures were wiped away,” he added.

He said he could not see any mitigating factors to persuade him not to hand Blackstock the longest term under the standard range. Blackstock was taken from the courtroom in handcuffs.

Janeah Goheen died at the scene of the Oct. 31, 2013, accident on State Highway 20 near Anacortes. Janesah Goheen was injured and died at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Pickler, also of Oak Harbor, suffered a concussion, broken bones and other injuries.

Prosecutors argued that Blackstock was driving recklessly when he sped up to 85 mph before losing control at a curve in the road. He struck the car with the Goheen sisters and Pickler inside.

Blackstock’s attorney tried to show that the accident was caused by unintended acceleration in his Ford Mustang and that estimate of his speed from the car’s drivetrain control module wasn’t accurate.