Kayla Mendoza pleaded guilty in February to two charges of DUI manslaughter for her involvement in a November 2013 drunk driving accident that killed two people.
Less than three hours before she drove on a Florida expressway going the wrong way, crashing and killing Kaitlyn Ferrante and her best friend Marisa Catronio, Mendoza tweeted: "2 drunk 2 care."
A Florida court sentenced Mendoza on Monday to 24 years in prison. She was facing a maximum sentence of 30 years. She will also have six years of probation and a lifetime driving ban.
The families of Ferrante and Catronio addressed the courtroom during the sentencing, asking the judge for the maximum sentence.
"You took all those dreams away," Ferrante's mother, Christine, said. "And then I had to make the choice to pull her off of life support; that's something a mother should never have to do."
Before her sentencing, Mendoza was given a chance to speak. "No matter how much time passes they will never leave my heart. I think about them every day and I regret my choices every day," she said.
