SEARCY, Ark. (AP) - A White County Circuit Court judge has sentenced a man to six years in prison on a manslaughter count in connection with an accident that killed a Heber Springs woman.
The Daily Citizen (http://bit.ly/KLlj1X) reports that Shelby Taylor apologized to Crystal Ward's family during a hearing Monday.
Authorities say Taylor's vehicle crossed the center line on Arkansas Highway 16 near Searcy in December 2009. Prosecutors say lab tests showed Taylor had methamphetamine and marijuana in his system at the time of the crash.
Ward's uncle, Tony Ward, said he didn't think the sentence was long enough. But her mother, Melanie Freeman, says she thinks justice was done for her daughter, and that Crystal would've wanted Taylor to get off drugs.
Taylor's family and his attorney, Cheryl Maples, refused to comment.
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