NEW ORLEANS -- The Covington woman who caused a fatal drunk driving crash on the Causeway Bridge has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for vehicular homicide.
Judge Glenn Ansardi sentenced Olivia Matte to 20 years after the 28-year-old pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide, vehicular negligent injury and careless driving.
Matte faced anywhere from five to 30 years in prison.
James Blackmond, then 37-years-old, was killed in the March 2017 crash. His brother-in-law was also wounded in the crash.
Prior to the sentencing announcement, Blackmond's family gave statements to the court, asking for a severe sentence and talking about the impact the loss of the father of 7 and husband.
"What sentence could equal the pain and suffering that Olivia Matte has caused my family?" asked Queenita Blackmond, the wife of James Blackmond.
A daughter of Blackmond's said Matte's actions caused her to want to become a lawyer, "to put away people like you."
Meanwhile, Matte's family testified that she had indeed been remorseful and that she wanted to right the wrong she had done. Matte herself asked for mercy.
"I am sorry and I've always been sorry. I wanted it to have been me gone, not him."
Officials said Matte's blood-alcohol content was .216 at the time of the crash, close to three times higher than the legal limit. It was her third DWI in less than a year and she was driving on a suspended license at the time.