SCRANTON -- A driver was sentenced to jail in Lackawanna County Tuesday for causing the crash that killed an 82-year-old woman from Peckville last year.
The man from Scranton cried in court as he told her family he was sorry.
The victim's son also shed some tears.
Everyone involved says this is a sad story of addiction.
Harry Wasilko's family says they fought a battle with his addiction to prescription painkillers, but it was one they couldn't win before he caused a crash in Peckville, a wreck that's now sending him to jail.
Helen Cordelli, 82, died after that crash a year ago.
Now, Wasilko will spend 11 and a half to 23 months in jail for causing her death.
"He's very, very sorry and he's taking ownership of that," said his sister Jamie Wasilko.
Both Wasilko and his sister Jamie apologized in court.
He was high on OxyContin when he crossed the center line, hitting the car Helen Cordelli's husband was driving. She was a passenger. Wasilko even had Xanax stuffed in his sock, part of his addiction.
"We knew before and we tried, but it just wasn't in time. It just wasn't in time," said Jamie Wasilko.
"Prior to this, I think his addiction was really getting the best of him, and unfortunately, it took an innocent life just to resonate with him and he has done remarkable in terms of changing his life," said his attorney Corey Kolcharno.
Helen Cordelli's son said emotionally in court that for 15 days after that crash on Main Street in Peckville, his mother waged the fight of her life, but in the end they lost the family's matriarch, sweetheart, and guardian.
Mark Cordelli said, "Our grief at her loss is endless and immeasurable and we pray other families are spared our senseless suffering."
Harry Wasilko was spared some in this case. A homicide by vehicle while DUI charge carries an automatic three-year prison sentence.
His guilty plea was to other charges. The district attorney says he and the Cordelli family agreed to that. but that's not meant to diminish his actions.
"It doesn't matter the time of day. It doesn't matter the drug or the drink. It can strike at any time when people make poor decisions," said Lackawanna County District Attorney Shane Scanlon.
Harry Wasilko's sentencing calls for him to continue his rehab for drug addiction.
In court it was also noted he's helping the Cordelli family in a civil matter.