A young driver behind a crash that killed five teenagers at Washdyke, near Timaru, has today been jailed for two-and-a-half years

Tyreese Fleming has admitted to five charges of dangerous driving causing death on August 7.

He was 19 at the time, on a restricted licence and had been drinking ... when his car hit a power pole at high speed.

Newstalk ZB's Courtney Winter says family sitting in a packed High Court public gallery in Timaru were angered by Justice Rob Osborne's final sentence.

One man yelled and stormed out of the courtroom, and another muttered it was disgusting.