A 16-year-old teen acted as a flag man in a deadly organized street race, Crown prosecutor Sean Doyle told a Brampton court Tuesday.

Darren D'Souza, 20, of Mississauga was killed instantly on Sept. 29, 2008, when his Honda Civic was ripped apart in a crash on Argentia Rd. at about 11 p.m.

The accused flag man, now 18, has pleaded not guilty to criminal negligence causing death in a street race in a judge-alone trial before Justice Minoo Khoorshed in a Brampton courtroom.

His identity remains protected by Canada's youth laws.

It's the Crown's case that the accused controlled the start of the race.

He "dropped his coat and the three cars took off," Doyle said in Tuesday's opening statement.

Though he wasn't one of the racers, he was a party to the offence, much like the driver who takes a robber to a bank but doesn't hold up the teller, Doyle said.

Court heard that the deceased man and his friends were in a Mississauga bar when they got into an argument with a group of people as to who was the better driver.

The argument lasted more than an hour, he said.

They left the bar and drove to a parking lot, then entered a four-lane street north of Derry Rd. The three vehicles lined up parallel to each other, so that one would have to race down the wrong side of the road.

During the race, D'Souza lost control of his vehicle and struck a concrete light pole.

Photos revealed by police at the time of the high-speed crash showed the impact was so violent that D'Souza's car was cut in half.

Several of D'Souza's friends witnessed the event.

One of the other drivers, Simeon Remedios, 20, of Mississauga pleaded guilty in August to criminal dangerous driving causing death in a street race. He was sentenced to 18 months.

The third driver, Nigel D'Souza, 19, of Mississauga – no relation to the deceased – has yet to stand trial.

It's the defence's case that the accused man wasn't an active participant in the race, and his actions had nothing to do with the dangerous driving of the others.

He was more of an observer, along with many other spectators.

"He was such a minor person. He didn't call the shots," lawyer Vincent Houvardas told the court.