A 25-year-old woman who killed a friend in a drunken-driving crash in 2010 was sentenced by a state judge Wednesday to 10 years in prison.
The judge, however, did not require Brittany Poole to begin serving her prison term right away.
Circuit Judge Richard Perkins allowed Poole to return to her residential substance abuse treatment program and will check on her progress in November.
In May, Poole pleaded guilty to negligent homicide and driving without a license.
On Nov. 21, 2010, Poole was driving a car that crossed the center line of Kamehameha Highway in Pupukea, hit a rock wall, a parked vehicle and two fences, went airborne and flipped before slamming into a carport.
Back-seat passenger Unique Murry, 21, of Aiea, died when he was ejected from the vehicle.
The state said Poole was speeding, drinking beer and smoking marijuana while driving. Her blood alcohol content was 0.09 and police estimated her car was traveling at 70 mph when it crashed in the 25 mph zone.
The legal blood alcohol threshold for drunken driving is 0.08.
The state said Poole lost control of her vehicle while arguing with her front-seat passenger about her speeding.
An Oahu grand jury indicted Poole on charges of negligent homicide and driving without a driver’s license.
At the time of the crash, another case of driving without a license was pending against Poole. She also has a July 2009 DUI conviction, four speeding convictions in 2009 and 2010 — one for driving 22 mph over the speed limit and another for driving 21 mph over — and convictions in 2010 for driving without a license and for driving with an instructional permit unaccompanied by a licensed driver.