A self-employed businessman accelerated his car ferociously just before he turned right into the path of a scooter rider, causing him to die instantly at the scene.
Mark Allen, 46, of Swansdowne Drive, Clifton, had been taking his Toyota MR2 for an MoT test when a witness heard the sound of the car's engine screaming and then a loud bang.
Dean Blower, 21, died after the collision with the red sports car.
Allen was heard shouting in the street: "I've killed him. I know he's dead. I can't believe I've killed him".
The Toyota was estimated to have been going at about 37mph, over the 30mph speed limit, Nottingham Crown Court heard.
The vehicle had defects - but they would not have contributed to the cause of the collision.
Allen had pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving on Freeth Street, Sneinton, on September 16, 2017.
Judge Andrew Easteal sentenced Allen to two years behind bars today (Monday, May 7).
And he banned him from the roads for three years, telling him in the dock he had performed a U-turn and then accelerated ferociously and, as he did so, he did not have the car properly under control.
Mr Blower's mother, Hannah Whitmore, had written a victim impact statement for the court where she said "from the moment she learned her son had been killed, her heart just crumbled".
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Reading an extract, the judge told the court she said, "I wanted to die, so I could be with him".
The sentence, the judge said, reflects the seriousness of Allen's case and "the gravity of your behaviour".
"You are without doubt a good man, but it was a terrible and stupid thing you did that day," added the judge.
The court heard the accelerated speed and inappropriate manner of his driving caused him to lose control of his vehicle and cause the collision.
David Outterside, mitigating, told the court: "I have clear instructions to say on his behalf that he is deeply sorry for his actions and deeply sorry for the consequences.
"There were admissions at the roadside of 'my car's backend went. I've hit him side on. He had no chance. I've killed him'."
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Mr Outterside said he was to be sentenced on the basis that he accelerated too quickly. The distance from the start of the acceleration to collision was 18 metres.
He said Allen, who ran a garage, had worked incredibly hard since leaving school - 60 or 70 hours a week or more - but now his business has "largely collapsed since the events the day we are concerned with".
"His marriage has come to an end. She (his wife) is a lay preacher at a local church," said Mr Outterside. "She witnessed the aftermath. She has found the consequences of his actions difficult to deal with."
He spoke of references about the defendant describing him as "reliable, honourable, always keen to help, an important figure in his local community".
Words of a heartbroken mum
Nottinghamshire Live spoke with Hannah Whitmore, Dean Blower's mum, at the last court hearing when Allen pleaded guilty.
She had her boy as a popular figure at home and work.
"He was full of life, always bright and smiling. He was my baby, a happy person," said Ms Whitmore, of Stevenson's Gardens, Ruddington.
"He had just come back from Mexico where he had been on holiday and wanted to see the world.
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"He had just moved back home with me and was on his way to work when that happened.
"That morning I knew something was wrong and heard about this an hour and a half later.
"I got a text and then the police phoned. They collected me and took me to the QMC.
"This has destroyed me. Two of my sons say part of me died with him and that is right.
"Me and Dean were close, very close."
Dean was a systems manager at the industrial cleaning firm Karcher's. He was on his way there for a Saturday morning shift.
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