Matthew Cordle, an Ohio man who made national headlines after he confessed in a viral video that he caused a fatal crash while drunk, was sentenced to six and a half years Wednesday.
"Whatever my sentence may be, there's no fair sentence when it comes to the loss of a life,"
Cordle, 22, told a judge before sentencing, The Associated Press reported.
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Cordle also apologized to the family of Vincent Canzani, who was killed in the June crash.
"It should have been me that night, the guilty party, instead of an innocent man,” he said.
Cordle’s driver’s license was suspended for life and he was
ordered to pay court costs and a $1,075 fine, CNN reported.
The victim's daughter, Angela Canzani, told the court her father “got a death sentence. Eight-and-a-half years is nothing," she said, according to CNN, referring to the maximum sentence possible for Cordle. "After eight-and-a-half years, Matthew Cordle will have his life back — my father is never coming back."
Initially Cordle denied his role in the accident while hospitalized. His attorney said Cordle, who fractured his skull, may have had a brain injury, the AP reported.
In a three and a half-minute YouTube video he posted on Sept. 3, Cordle admitted he killed a man and said he "made a mistake" when he decided to drive that night. "My name is Matthew Cordle, and on June 22, 2013, I hit and killed Vincent Canzani," he says. "This video will act as my confession."
The video, which ends with Cordle urging viewers not to drink and drive, has been viewed more than 2.3 million times, and was played again in court.
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