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Man who confessed to drunk driving death on YouTube sentenced to six and a half years in prison

Man who confessed to drunk driving death on YouTube sentenced to six and a half years in prison

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Matthew Cordle
Matthew Cordle

The man who posted a remorseful YouTube video confessing to killing a man in a drunk driving accident has been sentenced to six and a half years in prison. 22-year-old Matthew Cordle was indicted last month on charges of vehicular homicide and driving while intoxicated after causing a crash that killed 61-year-old Vincent Canzani. In a YouTube video after the crash, Cordle said that he had gotten drunk and, "completely blacked out," decided to drive. He ended up driving into incoming traffic, fatally striking Canzani's car. Cordle said that while he had been urged to lie by attorneys, he would "take full responsibility" and plead guilty in court.

Cordle's prosecutors and the family of the victim sought the maximum sentence for his case — eight and a half years — though the prosecutor said he believed Cordle was sincere in his apology. "I've heard time and time again about a message," said Canzani's daughter. "But the message I do not want to send is if you hit and kill someone, all you have to do is admit to it later and get leniency." After Cordle pleaded guilty, his attorneys asked the judge for closer to four years in prison. Besides his six and a half year sentence, Cordle must pay court costs and a $1,075 fine, says CNN. He is also barred from driving for life.