Woman sentenced to 21 years in drunk driving death

Antwan Hemphill still relives the horrific images of watching his brother die right in front of him.

"I lost my brother, and that's something that's going to play over and over in my mind," Hemphill said through tears Thursday in a York County courtroom.

Hemphill and his 22-year-old brother Lorenzo were walking down Adna Church Road on Jan. 15th. They went to a nearby convenience store for beer and pizza during a playoff football game.

They were walking on the left shoulder of the road facing traffic, when Dianne Webster, 45, drove up behind them in a pickup truck, drunk.

"We’re just walking and talking and having fun, and then it's just, gone," Hemphill said.

Channel 9 was in court Thursday as prosecutors showed a 3D animation of what happened. The truck swerved across Adna Church Road into the opposite lane, struck Lorenzo Hemphill, and spun Antwan around, knocking him to the ground.

Then, Webster kept right on driving. "I remember seeing tail lights, driving away," Hemphill said.

A short distance away, Webster hit a fence and was stopped by state troopers near Highway 5.

She admitted drinking a 6-pack of beer before driving and taking Xanax, a drug she took four to five times a day.

Prosecutors said Webster was so out of it that when troopers asked her what day it was, she told them it was Tuesday morning, even though it was Saturday night.

She denied hitting anything or having a wreck even though she was covered in glass and the truck was damaged on the front and sides.

Public defender Harry Dest described his client, Webster, as a weak and broken woman with an extreme drug and alcohol addiction.

Webster read a note in court, apologizing to the family.

"I wish it was me instead of him," she said. "I ask God to forgive me every day. I can't imagine how this family must feel."

Webster pled guilty to felony DUI causing death, hit and run and leaving the scene of an accident causing death.

She could have received a maximum sentence of 51 years. She was sentenced to 25.

Hemphill's family members told Channel 9 that were satisfied with that sentence, because they feel safe again.

"At least she's not out driving drunk anymore. It actually made me scared to cross the street sometimes. I'm just glad that's over with," Antwan Hemphill said.

Channel 9 asked solicitor Kevin Brackett how Webster could have been driving after four DUI convictions. Brackett explained that in South Carolina, if you go 10 years without a DUI, then get another one, it's counted as a first offense.

Webster had drunk driving convictions in 1992,1995 and 1996. She did not have another conviction until 2009. That one was counted as her first.

"We have to kind of ignore the other ones," Brackett said. "The legislature has to get serious about driving under the influence. It's the only way we can change this."