A North Augusta man will serve at least 10 months in prison after pleading guilty to a January 2014 car wreck that killed two people.
Aulstin Beard, 22, pleaded guilty to two counts of reckless homicide Monday morning.
Circuit Court Judge Doyet "Jack" Early sentenced Beard to six years in prison under the state's Youthful Offender Act for one of the counts and eight years in prison suspended to five years probation for the second count.
Beard was sentenced under the Youthful Offender Act, which is designed to give young offenders a second chance by giving some first-time offenders between ages 17 and 25 an undetermined prison sentence that can be up to six years.
Rushton said Beard will serve an initial period of 10 to 13 months, after which the Department of Corrections will decide if he can be paroled or must serve additional time.
The state made no recommendations or negotiations, according to Assistant Solicitor Yvonne Rushton, who prosecuted the case.
"It was a straight-up plea. He pleaded as he was originally charged," she said.
Beard was the driver of a 2004 Jeep Cherokee that crashed near the intersection of Dixie Clay Road and Flint Drive in Beech Island on Jan. 8, 2014.
Rushton said Beard was estimated to be traveling at least 94 mph in a posted 45 mph zone.
"He lost control and wound up hitting a tree," she said.
Helen Reid, 18, of Evans, Georgia, was pronounced dead at the scene. Reid and a second passenger, 20-year-old Tyler Gardner, were both ejected from the Jeep. Gardner died the next day after being taken off life support.
Rushton said offenders who are sentenced under this program are housed in the Department of Corrections separate from the general population.
"It's designed to rehabilitate them so that when they're released from incarceration, they're able to become productive citizens," she said. "It's just a very sad case all around."
Teddy Kulmala covers the crime and courts beat for the Aiken Standard.