A Waimanalo woman who told bystanders that she was texting while driving pleaded no contest in state court Thursday to negligent homicide for causing the death of one of her passengers.

Chanel Franco, 22, faces up to 10 years in prison at sentencing in June. Deputy Prosecutor Wilson Unga said he will ask for the maximum penalty.

Honolulu police said Franco was behind the wheel of a car that left the roadway near Waimanalo District Park on April 15, 2015, and crashed into a light pole. Back-seat passenger Jessica Lum was thrown from the vehicle on impact and died at the scene.

Franco and her front-seat passenger were taken to the Queen’s Medical Center in serious condition. Police said none of the occupants had been wearing a seat belt.

Two witnesses who were at the crash scene said Franco told them she had been texting and reaching down for something just before the crash. When she looked up an oncoming van was in front of her, so she swerved to avoid it.

Franco’s lawyer Michael Green said police found no evidence that Franco was texting before the crash.

An Oahu grand jury returned an indictment in March 2016 charging Franco with first-degree negligent homicide for causing Lum’s death by operating a vehicle in a negligent manner while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The prosecutor said Franco’s blood tested positive for marijuana and alprazolam, the chemical name for anti-anxiety drug Xanax, in levels high enough to cause impairment.

State law requires law enforcement to conduct blood, breath or urine testing of drivers involved in crashes that result in death or injury.