SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (AP) -- A South Kingstown man has been ordered to serve seven years on a drunken driving charge in an accident that killed a University of Rhode Island student in 2012.
A spokeswoman for Rhode Island's attorney general says 48-year-old Dean Philbrick pleaded no contest on Monday. He was ordered to serve seven years of a 15-year sentence, pay a $5,000 fine and lose his license for five years after he's released. He was also sentenced to 10 years with seven to serve concurrently on a reckless driving charge.
Authorities say 23-year-old Erica Knowles was the back seat passenger in the car Philbrick was driving when he crashed into a utility pole on Torrey Road.
Knowles was studying journalism and women's studies at URI.
Philbrick's sentence started immediately.