Inexperience the cause of fatal Vic crash

Phillip Diep hadn't been drinking, speeding, taking drugs or driving erratically the day he flipped his car and killed two of his friends.

But he was unlicensed.

The 20-year-old from Flemington had agreed to drive a group of friends home from "an adventure" in Woodend, north-west of Melbourne, on August 15, 2014 because his was the only car big enough to accommodate them all.

Some among the seven smoked some cannabis, but Diep didn't.

After setting off on the Calder Freeway at a speed well within the 110km/h limit, his car began to drift into the other lane.

Diep over-steered sharply to correct this and the car started to roll.

He later told police he was swerving to avoid a kangaroo.

The vehicle rolled a number of times.

At least two of his passengers weren't wearing their seatbelt.

Anthony and Joey Nguyen were thrown from the car.

Anthony died at the scene.

Joey Nguyen died later in hospital.

In sentencing Diep on Wednesday, Victorian County Court judge Lisa Hannan said it was open to her to impose a community corrections order, but the gravity of the offending meant Diep must serve a custodial sentence.

She ordered him to spend a total of 16 months in a youth justice centre.

General deterrence was of particular importance, she said.

"All too often families and communities face tragedies that so easily could have been avoided."

She accepted Diep was remorseful.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of dangerous driving causing death, which Judge Hannan described as the result of "tragic driver error".

"There are life-long consequences for this type of offending," Judge Hannan said.

The burden of what he did would rightly weigh heavily on him, as it rightly should, she said.

"You will live the rest of your life with the certain knowledge you caused the death of two friends."