Frances Dingle, the 47-year-old Mount Clemens woman who drove drunk and caused a crash that killed four teenagers from St. Clair Shores, was sentenced today to between 22 1/2 and 25 years in prison.
Dingle repeatedly apologized to the victims' families, who in turn pleaded for the maximum penalty, before Circuit Court Judge Donald Miller handed down his sentence.
The teens -- 19-year-old Devon Spurlock, 15-year-old Erica Haudek, 16-year-old Jordan Michalak and 16-year old Stephanie Curry --
during a trip to get pizza when Dingle slammed her van into their vehicle on March 16, 2009.
Dingle's blood-alcohol level after the crash was 0.16 percent, twice the state's legal limit. A police officer who interviewed her at a hospital said she had skipped an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting that day and bought vodka and beer with a friend.
Defense lawyer Michael Dennis has said Dingle was remorseful, and a statement she prepared said "a very bad decision was made."
In
, Dingle pleaded guilty to four counts of second-degree murder and four counts of drunken driving causing death. A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt, but is treated as such for sentencing purposes.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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