VISTA -- A man who struck and killed 14-year-old Kas Saunders in daylight and dragged him under his car for at least a hundred feet as the boy's friend cried for him to stop was sentenced Monday to four years in prison.

"Putting you behind a two-ton missile was a disaster waiting to happen," Judge Daniel Goldstein said in remarks to Robert Bernabeo, noting that he was driving his 1997 Cadillac sedan on a suspended license and under the influence of an anti-seizure medication.

But the sentence was too light, according to the victim's mother, Kim.

She called Goldstein's sentence "the best he could do," given that an earlier judge decided to throw out a charge of gross vehicular manslaughter, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years and requires the prosecution to prove the driver was legally intoxicated.

Paula Myers of Mothers Against Drunk Driving questioned why a more severe sentence couldn't have been handed down.

"Maybe the law needs to change," she said.

About 30 friends and family of the victim filled the courtroom, wearing T-shirts with the boy's smiling face.

His grandfather, Dutch Saunders, turned 73 Monday but had to spend the afternoon in court. He spoke directly to Bernabeo, seated about 30 feet away.

"You have in effect forced all who knew and loved Kas into a never-ending, unbearable reality," said Saunders. The grandfather wore a black suit and spoke with a framed photo of the smiling boy on a table in front of him.

Then he addressed Goldstein.

"This court should not show any leniency in (Bernabeo's) sentencing, lest we, too, become enablers," he said.

The death on Cole Grade Road, a heavily traveled route, shook the Valley Center community, with hundreds of people showing up for the boy's memorial service and some parents saying they were rethinking whether they'd let their kids back on the roads.

Nancy Trogh told the North County Times that the death caused her to stop letting her two children ride their bikes to school.

"I knew our roads were crazy, but this was a real wakeup call for my family," she said.

Saunders was riding his bike with a friend Sept. 30 when he was struck north of the Cole Grade Road intersection with Pauma Heights by the sedan driven by Bernabeo, of Valley Center, said California Highway Patrol officer Tom Kerns.

Bernabeo, then 46, had been driving southbound on Cole Grade at 30 to 40 mph, under the speed limit, when he veered to the right, striking the boy and throwing him onto the windshield, Kerns said. Saunders then fell under the car and was dragged an estimated 100 feet while his friend ran beside the car begging the driver to stop, he said.

Medics arriving at the scene of the crash found Saunders in the intersection, his body covered in blankets. Despite efforts to save him, Saunders died at the scene, where grieving family members had gathered shortly after the collision.

Bernabeo testified at the beginning of the hearing Monday, explaining that he was a man of God and that the accident has plagued his life ever since.

"That was 9-11 for me and I'm sure it was 9-11 for the family, too," he said, choking back tears. "I pray for them every night."

He appeared to place some blame on the victim, explaining that the boy turned slightly into his path, making it impossible to miss him.

"He should have heard the engine and should have seen me," he said, explaining that "(Saunders)'s not blind and he's not deaf."

He pleaded for leniency, explaining that he "couldn't live" with a four-year sentence because it would take him away from his 87-year-old father and four children.

After about 10 minutes of testimony, Goldstein interrupted him.

"You're starting to just ramble," he said, ordering him to conclude his remarks in the next minute.

Later, in explaining the sentence, Goldstein chided Bernabeo for portraying himself as a victim and questioned his sincerity.

"Everything you said in court today was nonsense," he told him.

Kim Saunders spoke about her youngest son in a voice made almost inaudible at times by sobs and tears.

The boy was named after her, "KAS" being her initials. He was an extremely friendly, active kid, she said, who that day had skipped dinner because he had just learned how to take jumps on his bike and didn't want to waste any daylight. His death, she said, destroyed her.

"I wasn't done being a mom," she said, sobbing.

Contact staff writer Dan Simmons at (760) 740-5426 or dsimmons@nctimes.com.