The 20-year-old driver whose three passengers died after he crashed his car received a 20-year prison sentence for causing the fatal accident. The man, from the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, was shuttling his three friends to parties on May 15, 2011, when the accident occurred. Alcohol was served at the events, which had no parental supervision.

The 20-year-old man pleaded guilty to three counts of vehicular manslaughter and one count of leaving the scene of an accident. He will not be eligible for parole until 2017.

A student at James Madison University in Northern Virginia, he walked away from the crash, leaving his three friends behind. He said he was too incoherent at first to understand what had happened, but he ran out of fear once he realized what he had done.

While the man was not charged with drunken driving, the judge said she wanted young people and their parents to know this was another tragic case brought on by alcohol, and that reckless drinking must stop.

Family members shared stories of the victims during the three-hour hearing and told the court of their losses. Among the victims killed were an 18-year-old woman, and two men, ages 18 and 20. Each family also said they were grateful to the judge for imposing the sentence recommended by prosecutors. The defense had requested the man serve 18 months in prison. The driver's family also told about their suffering since the crash, which has shattered a once-close community.

While the defendant may have been sorry for what he'd done. Some of his passengers may have lived that night had he called for help instead of running away. The families of the victims may have grounds to sue for wrongful death.

Source: The Washington Post, "Driver who fled fatal Olney crash gets 20-year sentence," Mary Pat Flaherty, Jan. 5, 2012