Two young men are waiting to learn if they will spend time in prison for the January 2006 death of Toronto taxi driver Tahir Khan in a violent crash on Mount Pleasant Avenue.

Alexander Ryazanov and Wang-Piao Dumani Ross, both 20, were allegedly driving their parents Mercedes-Benz sedans that January night at speeds reaching 140 km/h on the city street where the posted speed limit is 60 km/h.

One of the cars smashed into Tahir Khan's taxi as it made a left turn near an intersection. The collision crushed the taxi against a pole, killing the 46-year-old immigrant from Pakistan.

Khan was mere days from becoming a Canadian citizen after spending six years working in the country to support his family at home.

Outside court Friday the two men were tight lipped.

Lawyers for both men say they deeply regret Khan's death. They are asking the court to spare them prison sentences in favour of two years house arrest.

Ryazanov and Ross pleaded guilty to one count each of dangerous driving in March. They will be sentenced later this month.

Police originally said the men were engaged in a so-called street race. The dangerous practice involves driving cars through city streets, sometimes at speeds well above the posted limit.

The street racing claim was disputed in court.

"I've got a young man who accepts that he was driving dangerously," Ross' lawyer David Humphrey said Friday. "He feels terrible for the tragic consequences that have befallen the Khan family."

Defence lawyers argued Ryazanov and Ross were simply following each other.

"Our position is they were not racing ... They were driving too quickly and unfortunately that happens all too often with 18-year-old boys," Humphrey said.

A victim impact statement from Khan's wife was read in court that recounted the pain she experienced after his death.

"You can't imagine, the loss is so great. No one can imagine the mental torture I've suffered. All our dreams are incomplete," the statement said.

Khan's death sparked outrage and grief among Toronto's large community of recent immigrants and people working towards citizenship.

Friends prepared a memorial ceremony for Khan on the day before he was to take the oath of citizenship. It sparked calls to the federal government to grant citizenship to Khan posthumously.

With a report from CTV's Chris Eby